Venice Launches Respect The City Campaign Aimed At Tourists

Venice has launched a list of 10 guidelines to encourage tourists to respect the city and blend in like the locals do. Called ‘Venezia è anche tua, rispettala!’ (Venice is yours too, respect it!), the initiative suggests ways visitors can respect the city. Posters listing the guidelines printed in Italian, English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Russian and German will be posted around the city. The campaign has its own mascot in the form of a cartoon of the city’s symbol of winged lion. The guidelines point out examples of good manners, as well as local bylaws that enforce various measures, together with the amounts individuals could be fined for breaking the law. Local councillor Carla Rey told ‘La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno’: “We decided not to tell people what’s forbidden, charm attracts more attention.” Among the list of guidelines, people are asked not to litter, throw rubbish into the nearest waste bin and to sit on a bench to eat a picnic. Visitors are reminded that the area around St. Mark’s Basilica is a no-picnicking area and they could incur a €500 fine if they do so. Regarding dress, the guidelines point out that people may not walk around the city in swimwear or bare-chested, nor swim in the canals, and doing so risks incurring a €500 fine. Visitors are asked not to feed pigeons because they carry disease and damage Venice’s monuments, and doing so could lead to a €500 fine. Given that Venice’s calli, or lanes, are very narrow, visitors are asked to keep to the right, avoid lingering on bridges, and remember that not everyone is on holiday – many people live and work in the city. When travelling on public transport, tourists are asked to remember to respect other passengers by putting rucksacks on the ground, avoid standing in entrances and store bags where boat staff tell them to, and that they could incur a €500 fine for ignoring them. The waterbuses are the only form of public transport used by locals and tourists. People are reminded that if they buy goods from unlicensed street traders they are committing a crime and could be fined up to €7,000. The guidelines highlight that visitors buying such goods place their health at risk because the products sold are not subject to any form of control, they can harm buyers and encourage exploitation of the weak. You can find the full set of rules here