New rules for tourists have come into force in the stunning Italian tourist Mecca of Venice.
Last month a new daily charge of £4 was introduced on all day-trippers pouring more than £1 million into the coffers of the city in just 11 days.
And from June 1 more regulations came into force, including the banning of groups of more than 25 people and the use of loudspeakers, as well as the introduction of parking restrictions on narrow roads.
Tourism Councillor Simone Venturini earlier told Italian paper Il Gazzettino that the new rules were aimed at “improving” Venice.
He said: “It is a provision which is part of a broader framework of interventions aimed at improving and better-managing tourism in Venice, thus ensuring a greater balance between the needs of those who live in the city, as a resident or as a worker, and who comes to visit it.
“A limit has been introduced to the number of participants in tourist groups and the use of amplifiers and parking in narrow streets, bridges or places of passage have been prohibited.
“The number of 25 people was also decided to give homogeneity to what already happens for visits to civic museums. The introduction of the measure from June 1 will give operators time to organise themselves.”
Venice, in north eastern Italy, is built on 126 islands and surrounded by canals crossed by 472 bridges. The city was the seat of a vast maritime trading empire during the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance.
In 2019, some 13 million tourists descended on the region to enjoy the stunning architecture and unique urban landscape, which is home to just 250,000 people.
Main attractions of Venice include navigating its beautiful waterways, and visiting famous locations such as St Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco.
The New York Times once desribed Venice as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”, but in recent years city authorities have become worried high tourist numbers are taking their toll on the historic structures of the area.