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TOURISM

No more kebabs: Venice cracks down on takeaway food

Venice's council has banned any new takeaway food shops from opening in the lagoon city, in an effort to preserve its "decorum and traditions".

No more kebabs: Venice cracks down on takeaway food
File photo: kzenon/Deposit Photos

“It is urgent to fight degradation in the city, considering that Venice is a Unesco World Heritage Site,” councillor Francesca Da Villa, who proposed the measures, told The Local.

“There are tourists who eat wherever they are, and there's a general sense of a lack of care for the city. For some time, there have been photos circulating of packaging and food waste left along the streets.”

The new legislation applies to kebab shops, fast food outlets, and kiosks selling pizza by the slice, all of which have been ruled  “incompatible” with the city's cultural heritage.

In fact, only gelaterias will be allowed to set up shop. Da Villa noted that “in general, gelato is created through artisanal methods, so they are worthy of protection.”

Businesses which have already set up shop will be allowed to stay open, but Da Villa said they would be subject to “a reorganization of regulations”.

She said that deregulation of food and drinks businesses in Venice over the past few decades has put the environment and “historical fabric” of the lagoon city at risk, as well as its “authentic identity”.

The move came just days after Venice's council unveiled a raft of new measures aimed at limiting tourist numbers in the crowded city.

These included the installation of people-counters at some of the most popular sites, tourist maps aimed at highlighting lesser-explored areas, and more police officers on patrol to tackle unruly behaviour.

The municipality also plans to introduce limits on the number of tourist accommodations, a solution already introduced by Spanish authorities in Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.

Venice's tourism woes

Tension between locals and visitors to the canal-lined city has been brewing for years.

Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has made it a priority since his election in 2015 to crack down on the tourism industry – and the mission seems to have the full support of residents. Last summer, flyers appeared across the city with a clear message from frustrated locals: “Tourists go away!!! You are destroying this area!”

In April 2016, the city introduced a 'locals-first' policy for its water buses, with two different queues for residents and tourists. The large cruise ships which dock in the Venetian lagoon have also come under fire; although the biggest boats are officially banned, locals say not enough is done to keep out the polluting ships.

Other European beauty spots have come under strain from excessive tourism. Italy's Culture Ministry told The Local last year that it was working on a plan to resolve the issue of overcrowding in several popular cities and towns, including Venice.

And in January, Barcelona passed a law regulating the amount of tourist accommodation in the Spanish city in an effort to ease the strain.

With reporting by Caterina Zita

READ ALSO: Five crowd-free alternatives to Italy's tourist hotspotsFive crowd-free alternatives to Italy's tourist hotspots
The island of Ischia. Photo: Renzo Ferrante/Flickr

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FOOD AND DRINK

Do Italians really eat pasta every day?

Pasta is the foundation of Italian cuisine and Italians have a reputation for eating it nearly every day. But is this reality or myth?

Do Italians really eat pasta every day?

Pasta is the cornerstone of Italian cuisine and an essential staple of Italians’ diet, hence the popularity of the adage Toglietemi tutto ma non la pasta! (‘Take everything away from me except pasta’).

But there is a widespread belief among foreign nationals that people in the bel paese eat it every single day of the week. 

Is this reality or myth?

According to a survey from research platform YouGov Italia, ‘only’ 17 percent of Italians eat pasta every day or at least six days a week. 

The majority of Italians (37 percent) consume pasta two to three times a week, while 30 percent say they eat it four to five times a week. 

Finally, 8 percent eat pasta just once a week.

While the survey seems to disprove the claim that Italians generally eat pasta every day (only a minority does), does that mean that they are not as big pasta eaters as we may have originally thought?

Not really. 

Italians are still the leading pasta consumers in the world as the average person in the country eats some 23.1 kilograms of it every year (that’s nearly two kilograms a month).

READ ALSO: Ask an Italian: How do you sauce pasta properly?

For context, people in neighbouring France and Germany only consume 8.3 and 7.9 kg per capita a year, whereas the average American eats about 9 kg every year.

Further, yearly per capita consumption in the UK stands at an average of just 3.5 kg, according to a report from pasta maker Barilla.

So, while they may not have it every day, Italians do eat quite a lot of pasta over the course of a year. 

But how do they never get tired of it? 

One of the main reasons behind Italians’ unbreakable bond with the high-carb food is variety. 

Italians are extremely creative when it comes to pasta and they rarely eat the same dish twice in a row as they like to experiment with a wide range of recipes and sauces.

READ ALSO: Ten golden rules for cooking pasta like an Italian

Further, there are over 350 types of pasta in Italy, which means that you could potentially eat a different pasta shape almost every day of the year.

Another reason why most Italians have pasta multiple times a week is that they tend to eat it in moderation, steering well clear of potential carb overloads. 

While they may have a large, high-calorie pasta dish (for instance, lasagne or pasta al ragù) on weekends or on special occasions, people in the country generally go for lighter recipes and sauces on normal days, with portions generally going from 80 to 120 grams per person.

Also, Italians very rarely eat pasta twice a day, with the majority of people having it for lunch and then opting for a non-carb-based dish in the evening.

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