Venice: The War on Impropriety Continues
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 11.11.08 | 8:57 AM ET
Photo by Buoyed by their recent victory against the St. Mark’s pigeons, local authorities in Venice are once again turning their attention to the battle against uncivilized tourists. We’ve covered their clampdown on bare chests, littering and public naps—now, the new targets include fare-dodgers on the vaporetti, bag lunches in the piazzas, and all those folks who don’t give up their seats for pregnant women and the elderly.
I’m with them on the first and the last ideas, but bag lunches? There’s nothing like taking a seat in a quiet campo and enjoying a light snack before getting lost again. Cracking down on that practice seems more like an attack on tourists’ wallets than on our manners.
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Valerie Conners 11.11.08 | 12:47 PM ET
I agree completely - what an awful thing to stop - having the chance to grab a quick panino on the run and munch away in a piazza, watching the world go by is a treasured memory i’m sure most tourists have taken from Venice.
Jack travels 11.11.08 | 1:07 PM ET
Are we talking about Piazza San Marco or all the piazzas in Venice? If the latter, it’s definitely a grab for our wallets!
On San Marco, I can sort of understand trying to get people away from munching on food, it’s packed and things get dropped. Last time I was there, it was a mess around mid-afternoon.
Jennifer 11.11.08 | 1:43 PM ET
No more bag lunches? This sounds like a rule/law that would never be enforced! Can you imagine how ridiculous the Italian Police would look nabbing someone as they quietly ate a sandwich in the piazza? I agree, there seems to be a motive here but I’m not sure how well thought out it was. Regardless of whether you pack a lunch or eat in a restaurant, either way you are spending money in Venice! Perhaps if the price of food in Venice wasn’t quite so high people would be more inclined to dine at cafes and other restaurants?!
Eva Holland 11.11.08 | 2:58 PM ET
Mmm… panino…
One of these days I’ll have to get back to Venice, even if it means braving the wrath of the city council.
Eva Holland 11.11.08 | 4:10 PM ET
Hey Jack - The article implied that it was piazzas in general. But as Jennifer says, no idea how they’d go about enforcing it!
karen 11.17.08 | 10:23 PM ET
My husband & I were in Venice in September. We ate in restaurants, and cafes as well as grabbing pizza slices and gelatos on the go. One of our more memorable moments was standing on the steps on the Rialto bridge eating pizza! Hope this doesn’t apply as well. Traveled all thru Italy. Beautiful country! K. Dunn