Cortina d’Ampezzo and Venice step up crackdown on unruly tourist behaviour
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Cortina d’Ampezzo is cracking down on what local authorities describe as “loutish” tourism, introducing restrictions on bivouacking, eating in certain public areas and clothing deemed contrary to public decorum.
Under an ordinance issued Thursday by Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi, the rules will remain in force until Oct. 15 in the center of the Dolomites resort, according to Il Messaggero, Il Gazzettino and Corriere del Veneto.
Visitors are prohibited from lying on the steps of monuments, in parking areas, on streets or outside building entrances. Sleeping bags are also banned, including on benches.
The ordinance prohibits eating and drinking on public streets and beneath porticoes, while washing in public areas is also forbidden. Visitors are additionally expected to avoid clothing considered inconsistent with public decorum.
Violations carry fines ranging from 25 euros to 500 euros.
Lorenzi told Il Gazzettino that residents were sometimes embarrassed by tourist behavior, saying the town was already dealing with a heavy influx of visitors and that “at least the rules should be respected.”
The mayor said he did not believe an ordinance should have been necessary to prevent camping in the town center, bivouacking outside the cemetery or eating on church steps. But he said the measures were required to give local police and other law enforcement agencies the authority to intervene.
Similar concerns are being addressed in Venice, where authorities are also seeking to curb behavior viewed as damaging to the city’s image.
Venice Mayor Simone Venturini said he was prepared to further tighten controls on public decorum and commerce, as well as behavior that could affect the city’s reputation, Corriere del Veneto reported.
Diving, picnicking and lying down on towels or inflatable loungers in St. Mark’s Square will no longer be tolerated.
“Venice cannot be used as a stage” for irresponsible or disrespectful behavior, Venturini said, adding that local authorities and police were committed to enforcing the rules and imposing sanctions.
