Photo: Twitter / Luigi Brugnaro
It’s all fun and (water) sports until you go surfing on the historic canals of Venice, Italy, where operating personal watercraft has been banned for a long time. Just ask two “idiot” Australians who did it last week.
Venice is a UNESCO world heritage site, so, as a tourist, you should expect a minimum of rules to observe.
In addition to that, Venice had serious issues with overcrowding from tourists, so the measures currently in place could be considered a tad more strict than in other tourist hotspots. They include a ban on personal watercraft on all of the city’s canals, with the few exceptions of watercraft used by certain residents. These two dudes you can see in the videos below did not fall under the exceptions, but they went ahead and had their fun either way.
This happened last week, on August 17: two men are seen riding electric surfboards on the city’s famous Grand Canal, much to the dismay of passers-by and gondola operators. Several videos of the stunt were then posted online, where they went viral and caught the eye of Luigo Brugnaro, the City Mayor. In a scathing post on his social media platforms, Brugnaro dubbed the two men “overbearing idiots” who were making a mockery of the city and asked for help in tracking them down. Whoever would help him in his quest would get dinner on him, he said.
Brugnaro got his wish very quickly. With help from the public, the two men were tracked down and placed in custody. Their boards were seized by police: Nuova Venezia says that they were both worth about €25,000 (approximately $25,100 at the current exchange rate), so the seizure is no small loss. Each man was also fined €1,500 ($1,506) and is facing further legal trouble because Brugnaro is very serious about proving a point: “Venice is NOT Disneyland!” Apparently, that’s an actual thread on social media, where politicians and residents rage at tourists who don’t follow the rules.
According to the same media outlet, the “City of Venice has already instructed the Civic Advocacy to proceed against the two foreigners for image damage,” which sounds like they’re being sued for damaging the image and reputation of the city by surfing down the canals. The report notes that consular authorities have been briefed about the incident.
Venice – and Italy in general – is very strict about the do’s and don’ts of tourism, and especially about enforcing these rules when they’re broken. In this particular case, the ban on personal watercraft was necessary on the grounds of safety since the main waterways were overcrowded. Paddleboards, kayaks, and electric surfboards were banned to allow gondolas and the vaporetti (water buses) free passage on the canals. These two “idiots” either didn’t know or didn’t care, and they’re now finding out about the consequences.
In addition to that, Venice had serious issues with overcrowding from tourists, so the measures currently in place could be considered a tad more strict than in other tourist hotspots. They include a ban on personal watercraft on all of the city’s canals, with the few exceptions of watercraft used by certain residents. These two dudes you can see in the videos below did not fall under the exceptions, but they went ahead and had their fun either way.
This happened last week, on August 17: two men are seen riding electric surfboards on the city’s famous Grand Canal, much to the dismay of passers-by and gondola operators. Several videos of the stunt were then posted online, where they went viral and caught the eye of Luigo Brugnaro, the City Mayor. In a scathing post on his social media platforms, Brugnaro dubbed the two men “overbearing idiots” who were making a mockery of the city and asked for help in tracking them down. Whoever would help him in his quest would get dinner on him, he said.
Brugnaro got his wish very quickly. With help from the public, the two men were tracked down and placed in custody. Their boards were seized by police: Nuova Venezia says that they were both worth about €25,000 (approximately $25,100 at the current exchange rate), so the seizure is no small loss. Each man was also fined €1,500 ($1,506) and is facing further legal trouble because Brugnaro is very serious about proving a point: “Venice is NOT Disneyland!” Apparently, that’s an actual thread on social media, where politicians and residents rage at tourists who don’t follow the rules.
According to the same media outlet, the “City of Venice has already instructed the Civic Advocacy to proceed against the two foreigners for image damage,” which sounds like they’re being sued for damaging the image and reputation of the city by surfing down the canals. The report notes that consular authorities have been briefed about the incident.
Venice – and Italy in general – is very strict about the do’s and don’ts of tourism, and especially about enforcing these rules when they’re broken. In this particular case, the ban on personal watercraft was necessary on the grounds of safety since the main waterways were overcrowded. Paddleboards, kayaks, and electric surfboards were banned to allow gondolas and the vaporetti (water buses) free passage on the canals. These two “idiots” either didn’t know or didn’t care, and they’re now finding out about the consequences.
Ecco due imbecilli prepotenti che si fanno beffa della Città… chiedo a tutti di aiutarci a individuarli per punirli anche se le nostre armi sono davvero spuntate… servono urgentemente più poteri ai Sindaci in tema di sicurezza pubblica!
— Luigi Brugnaro (@LuigiBrugnaro) August 17, 2022
A chi li individua offro una cena! pic.twitter.com/DV2ONO3hUs
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