For many cities, there was complete jubilation as tourists were finally able to return again after several years of closures due to the corona pandemic.
But when tourists arrive, the risk of breaking the law also increases. The American broadcaster CNN has it mentioned in a larger case where they examine the incidents in which tourists have been involved in violating the rules in various Italian cities.
Suddenly the sports car crashes along the Spanish Steps
Accidents are many and include everything from a luxury car along the Spanish Steps, to eager bathers in the world-famous canals of Venice.
- In May, a tourist drove from Saudi Arabia down the Spanish Steps in Rome in a borrowed Maserati.
- The next month got it fined two American tourists after throwing their scooters down the Spanish Steps. The damage to the tourist monument in the middle of the streets of Rome turned out to cost a whopping $ 25,000, equivalent to NOK 265,000, to repair.
WORLD FAMOUS STAIRS: Piazza di Spagna is located in the heart of Rome. With its 138 steps, it is a favorite place for both photography and driving. Photo: Ntb
sea View
Disrespectful tourists
On top of that, one American tourist had had enough when he was reportedly given the disappointing news that he would not be able to see the Pope when he visited the Vatican in October. When the American tourist has received the message that the visit to the Vatican has ended without a papal visit, he will smashed two priceless sculptures inside the Vatican Museums.
As CNN writes: Is it worse than usual or have we just forgotten how bad people behave when they are on vacation?
– I don’t think there’s anything worse this year. I think we’re at the same stage we were in when we closed in 2019, director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Eike Schmidt, tells CNN.
– There are certainly people who do not respect the situation they are in, continues Schmidt.
According to the Italian Tourist Board, tourism in the country increased by 172 percent in the period from January to July this year.
Fed up with tourists
In Venice, in the heart of the Adriatic Sea, a total of 43 incidents in which tourists went to swim in the canals have been reported in the last year. 46 incidents were also reported in which tourists destroyed monuments in the city known for its history, architecture and over 150 canals.
It is strictly forbidden to swim in the UNESCO-protected canals, something experienced by two Norwegian tourists when in 2019 they were fined 450 euros after having the night bath in Venice.
Norwegian women expelled from Venice after “intimate” night baths.
– They are behaving as they always have, but it’s just that the numbers are back to where they were before the pandemic, and that corresponds to an increase in bad behavior, Chief Commissioner Gianfranco Zarantonello tells CNN.
He continues:
– Sometimes Venice is not seen as a city. Tourists behave if they are on the beach.
