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VENICE

WATCH: Venice mayor furious as two waterski down Grand Canal

Visitors and local residents watched in amazement as two people waterskied between boats along the Grand Canal in Venice on Wednesday.

Published: 17 August 2022 17:11 CEST
WATCH: Venice mayor furious as two waterski down Grand Canal
The Grand Canal in Venice was the scene of the latest episode of visitors behaving badly with a jet-ski ride on Wednesday. File photo: Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, reacted angrily after video footage of the two waterskiers weaving alongside gondolas and vaporetti was widely shared on social media.

He called the pair “arrogant imbeciles” and offered to “buy dinner” for anyone who could identify them.

“Here are two arrogant imbeciles making a mockery of the city,” Brugnaro said in a tweet resharing one of the videos.

“I ask everyone to help us to identify them to punish them,” he said, calling for mayors to be given “more powers” to ensure “public safety”.

“I’ll offer a dinner to the person who identifies them,” he added.

“Dumb and dumber,” commented one Venice resident on Twitter, while another user said: “Venice is not a playground”.

City police were reportedly investigating on Wednesday afternoon.

Venice police regularly hand out large fines and even ban people from the city centre under numerous rules on ‘decorum’, introduced following countless episodes of visitors causing damage or upsetting residents.

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TOURISM

EXPLAINED: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Venice has confirmed it will trial a long-delayed ticketing system for visitors in spring 2024. But who will the fee apply to and how will it work?

Published: 21 September 2023 12:38 CEST
Updated: 24 September 2023 08:16 CEST
EXPLAINED: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Venice officials last week approved the trial of a long-delayed ‘tourist tax’ aimed at regulating crowds and lessening the impact of mass tourism on its city centre. 

But the announcement, which reportedly contributed to Venice dodging inclusion on the UNESCO list of endangered heritage sites for the second time, has left many confused as to who the entry fee will apply to, who will be exempt and how the system will be enforced.

Though future changes cannot be ruled out, especially given the project’s troubled history, this is what the city council has said so far about the incoming trial, which is presently scheduled to start next spring.

Who will the entry fee apply to?

The Venice city council has said that all day trippers over the age of 14 will have to pay the fee. But no small amount of confusion lingers over who exactly will qualify as a ‘day tripper’.

In particular, Venice officials describe turisti giornalieri as visitors who don’t “stay in one of the accommodation facilities located within the territory of the Venice municipality”.

READ ALSO: Five essential tips to escape the tourist crowds in Venice

Besides hotels, it remains unclear exactly which other types of accommodation (B&Bs, hostels, holiday rentals, guest houses, etc.) will fall under the ‘accommodation facilities’ umbrella.

Gondola, Venice

A traditional gondola crosses the Grand Canal in Venice. Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP

Who’s exempt?

Aside from guests staying at the city’s hotels, so far the city has said a number of other categories will be exempt from paying the fee. 

Exemptions will include: 

  • Venice residents
  • People working or studying in Venice
  • Veneto residents (though they may still be required to register their trip online)
  • Second-home owners and their households
  • Partners, parents or relatives up to the third degree of kinship of people residing in Venice 

There are currently no details on how people will be asked to prove they’re entitled to the exemption.

How much is the fee?

Day trippers will be charged a flat five-euro fee to access the city’s historical centre during the 2024 trial stage.

However, it’s likely that this set-up will change once the trial’s over and the ticketing system becomes fully operative. 

As laid out in some of the earliest project plans, the council should ultimately opt for a variable-fee format, with the fee’s amount changing based on the time of the year and the number of visitors expected in the city. 

This means that the fee will be higher in peak tourist season and lower in low season.

How can I pay the fee?

According to the Venice comune, tourists will be required to pay the fee via a new online platform (also available via mobile app) that is expected to become operational next year. 

Venice, St Mark, tourists

Tourists walk across St Mark’s Square, one of Venice’s most popular attractions. Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP

The platform will provide visitors with a QR code, which they will then have to show to ticket officers upon entering the city. 

READ ALSO: Five ‘secret’ places in Venice you need to visit

It remains unclear where and how controls will take place, though the city council previously advanced the idea of setting up gates at the city’s main entry points.

Fines for those flouting the rules will range from 50 to 300 euros.

When will the trial start?

The Venice city council has said that the trial will be spread out over up to 30 days during 2024, but officials haven’t yet agreed on exactly which days the entry fee will kick in.

That said, it is likely that the system will be tested on particularly crowded days such as long weekends and public holidays, according to the Venice comune website.

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