There is already a list of things that visitors to the lovely city of Venice, Italy can no longer do. The latest ban will be on lying or sitting on the ground in undesignated spots throughout the city. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro recently proposed the ban to curb what he termed the “boorish” behaviour of visitors to Venice. A fine of up to 500 euros (£450) is set to be levied on those caught breaking the rules.

There is reportedly already a ban in place to stop people sitting in the most popular spots, like the Rialto Bridge and on the steps of the cities’ churches.

However, Brugnaro wishes to take this even further and the city council will be voting on his proposal in October.

Do’s and Don’ts in Venice

According to the Guardian, the mayor’s latest proposal is part of an already lengthy list of rules he hopes will curb the over-tourism in the beautiful city. In May this year, Brugnaro passed a law preventing any more takeout outlets opening in Venice over the coming three years. This was to limit the number of people eating in the streets.

July saw the use of recreational boats in several of the major waterways in Venice also made illegal. The ban on recreational boats hit residents who use them as their main mode of transport.

The Independent reports that the population of Venice is around 54,000 people, while the average number of tourists in the city centre each day is around 60,000.

That makes more than double the number of people each day in the city.

The Guardian notes that municipal employees, dubbed the “angels of decorum,” already police the major tourist spots to make sure visitors respect the rules. As to the problem of visitors eating in the streets, Venice has already provided special picnic spots in the city, but few visitors know about them.

People against the bans in Venice

While some believe the new curbs on tourists are necessary, some residents don’t agree. The Venice residents group, known as Gruppo Aprile 25 is publically against the bans being launched in the city. The group’s leader, Marco Gasparinetti, said 5,000 more people who need to be hired to enforce the new bans.

However, as noted by Conde Naste Traveller, with all those hefty fines coming into play, the city of Venice would have no problems paying the extra salaries involved.

Tommaso Cacciari said the problem isn’t people eating on the steps of the city. He said to respect Venice, there should rather be a limit on the number of apartments made available to tourists visiting the city. Cacciari noted that turnstiles had also been erected to limit the number of people accessing major tourist attractions.

At that time, local protesters removed the turnstiles out of sheer frustration.

One protester, Marco Baravalle said at the time, that Venice as they knew it was dying. He said the fact that the mayor was placing turnstiles in the city demonstrated that he was giving up and that Brugnaro wants the city to end up with no inhabitants.
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