London – A video posted on social media showing tourists surfing motor boards on a canal in Venice sparked the anger of the mayor, who went after the violators.
Luigi Brugnaro expressed his anger in a brazen message on Twitter, describing the surfers as “imbeciles and smug, mocking the city”.
And in exchange for a dinner, he urged the people to condemn them.
Surfing shown in the video is prohibited in Venice
The idea worked. The two men were detained, but their identities or nationalities were not disclosed. Their boards were confiscated, they were fined and expelled from the city.
The scene, which angered the mayor and many residents, shows the two men maneuvering around gondolas and waterbuses along Venice’s Grand Canal, unaffected by signs prohibiting the practice.
Due to Ecco imbecilli prepotenti che ve fanno beffa della Città… tailored individually for each individual… urgent action is needed on a public issue!
A chi li individua offro una cena! pic.twitter.com/DV2ONO3hUs— Luigi Brugnaro (@LuigiBrugnaro) 17 August 2022
Seizure of boards, fine and expulsion from Venice
On social media, opinions were divided on the video of tourists surfing. The mayor’s Twitter post received hundreds of comments.
There were those who were least discouraged, saying they didn’t see a problem, or comparing it to other, more harmful activities, especially the excess of cruise ships in the city.
After the backlash, anger at the mayor’s post had a huge impact as soon as the surfers were identified.
A statement from Brugnaro’s office said the two offenders were each fined €1,500.
The duo’s surfboards were also confiscated by the authorities, resulting in a loss of more than 10,000 Euros (more than R$50,000) each.
Also, two of them were expelled from the city.
In the end, the reckoning of the damage caused by the two surfers’ visit to Venice couldn’t be more indigestible. The mayor did not reveal whether he paid for the dinner he had promised someone to help identify the two poor people.
Oversupply of tourists in Venice
The problem shown in the surfing video is not an isolated one, hence the angry reaction from the mayor and social media users.
In Venice, which hosts 20 million visitors a year, the excess of tourists and the behavior of some are the cause of complaints from the local people.
Recently, they protested two Americans who, wrapped in a towel, returned to where they had been swimming naked in one of the canals.
At the same time, foreigners protest the rules and fines.
Swimming or playing sports in the Grand Canal of Venice, eating while visiting monuments or attractions is prohibited.
In 2019, two Germans had to pay US$1,000 to make coffee on the Rialto Bridge, a 430-year-old gem.
Starting next year, a fee will be charged to tourists to cover the costs of preserving the historic city.
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source: Noticias
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