Venice Mayor Wants to Ban Tourists From Sitting Down in Undesignated Areas
Tourists in Europe seem to be bugging city officials everywhere. From breaking donkeys' backs and cruise ships overloading Santorini's shores to eating paninis near the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, European authorities have had enough with tourists disrupting their historic cities. As of now, the Mayor of Venice wants to ban people from sitting down basically anywhere in the city.
Mayor Luigi Brugnaro is submitting a proposal to the city council this October, and if he gets his way, those caught sitting in undesignated areas could face a €50-€500 fine, the Telegraph reports.
Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy
This shouldn't come as a surprise. Tourists are already banned from sitting on the steps near and around the St. Mark's Basilica, and on top of that, there's a growing list of restrictions that officials imposed to help people respect and keep the city in tip-top shape. Last summer, the city launched the #EnjoyRespectVenezia campaign, which could land you a fine if you're found littering, riding bikes through the city, swimming in the canals, picnicking in public spaces, stalling too long on a bridge and wearing your bathing suit as your day's outfit. Similarly, the mayor issued a temporary ordinance in April to regulate pedestrian, water and vehicle traffic and made some areas only accessible to locals.
According to the Guardian, Mayor Brugnaro called these sitting tourists "boorish," and the proposal is facing opposition from residents' groups.
"There is such a long list of things that are forbidden in Venice there is nothing left that you can do," Marco Gasparinetti, a residents' group leader told the Guardian. "They would need to hire an extra 5,000 officers to properly enforce everything."
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