A British couple have been banned from Venice after they were caught jumping into the Grand Canal on the last day of their holiday.
The 35-year-old man and his 25-year-old Romanian partner, who live in the UK, were reportedly taking a dip in the canal when they were spotted by gondoliers and reported to police.
The pair were each fined £390 and ordered by athorities to leave the World Heritage city for 48 hours, according to Italian media.
Swimming in Venice’s 150 canals is strictly prohibited due to the dangers of the gondolas and motorboats which pass through the water.
Security councillor Elisabetta Pesce told Il Gazzetino : ‘I thank the gondoliers for their cooperation and timely reporting.’
The case has sparked anger from supporters of the action group known as Venice is not Disneyland, with locals calling for higher fines for bad behaviour and a permanent ban for transgressors.
‘I can’t take any more of these idiots,’ one woman wrote on the group’s Facebook page. ‘Wherever they go they create a mess.’
Several residents complained that the fines given to the British couple were too low.
The 35-year-old man and his 25-year-old Romanian partner, who live in the UK, were reportedly taking a dip in the canal when they were spotted by gondoliers and reported to police
‘For others this will be an incentive to make themselves go viral,’ one man wrote.
Others were not convinced the fines would not be paid at all. ‘They should be jailed until they pay the fine, and then put on a plane dressed as they are in their bathing suits,’ one comment read.
But this is not the first incident of its kind – misbehaving tourists have plagued the famed lagoon city in the past.
In 2023, the mayor of Venice tweeted a video of a man jumping from a three-storey building into a canal, branding him an ‘idiot’.
Luigi Brugnaro wanted to find the man and the person who recorded the video saying they should be ‘given a certificate of stupidity and a lot of kicks’.
Five years earlier, tourists jumped from the Rialto Bridge late at night, cheered on by their friends and in 2016 a New Zealand man ended up in hospital with severe injuries when he struck a water taxi after diving off the bridge.
And in 2020, two German tourists were filmed swimming in the Grand Canal under the iconic Rialto Bridge as the Italian city came out of the Covid lockdowns.
Local media reported the tourists were caught barefoot in their swimming shorts in the streets by army officers monitoring the city. They were both fined.
Swimming in Venice’s 150 canals is strictly prohibited due to the dangers of the gondolas and motorboats which pass through the water
Venice authorities say they are doing more to clamp down on irresponsible antics from carefree holidaymakers.
Since the beginning of the year, officials have issued more than a thousand expulsion orders for various types of violations.
‘The council administration is committed to firmly combating disrespectful and uncivil behaviour, because protecting Venice means defending the dignity of a city that is unique in the world and ensuring decorum for both residents and visitors,’ said Elisabetta Pesce, the councillor responsible for security.
