Italy’s top story on Thursday

Venice launches a new scheme Thursday to charge day-trippers looking to enter the historic Italian city, a world first intended to ease the pressure of mass tourism, AFP reports

Visitors entering the UNESCO World Heritage site for the day will have to buy a five-euro ($5.3) ticket, with inspectors carrying out spot checks at key entry points.

Considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, Venice is one of the world’s top tourist destinations — but is drowning under the weight of the crowds.

Under the trial system, so-called Access Fee tickets will be required only on 29 busy days throughout 2024, mostly weekends from May to July, with the goal of persuading day-trippers to visit during quieter times.

“The aim is to find a new balance between tourism and the city of its residents,” Simone Venturini, the local councillor responsible for tourism, told AFP.

Medical examiner testifies in new Regeni trial

The body of murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni bore signs of “punches, kicks, use of clubs, burns,” a medical examiner testified on Wednesday, in the latest trial over the researcher’s 2016 killing.

28-year-old Regeni had been conducting academic research in Cairo when he was abducted in January 2016. His body was found nine days later, dumped on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital with clear signs of torture.

A previous case accusing four Egyptian security agents of the killing was thrown out in 2021 as the defendants could not be tracked down, but in September of last year Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that a trial could go ahead in their absence.

Part of Wednesday’s hearing was conducted behind closed doors, the Regeni’s family lawyer Alessandra Ballerini said, “because we don’t want those who loved Giulio, his friends and family, to remember him as he will be shown.”

Italy votes to lift quotas on medical students

A Senate education panel on Wednesday approved a text that seeks to stop universities from setting limits on the number of students they admit to medicine degree courses, according to Italian media reports.

The president of the committee, League lawmaker Roberto Marti, said backing for the proposal was almost unanimous.

“Intense work led to the maximum level of agreement among political parties,” said Marti, adding: “We will offer our young people the opportunity to freely enroll in the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine.”

Filippo Anelli, president of the federation of Italian medical guilds (Fnomceo), opposed the move, telling news agency Ansa it was “absolutely not a common-sense rule” and claiming it would create “a plethora of graduates who have no chance of finding jobs as doctors.”

Italy fines Amazon €10m over unfair practices

Italy’s competition authority said on Wednesday it had fined two Amazon companies 10 million euros for unfair commercial practices that push customers into agreeing to “recurring” rather than “one-time” purchases online, AFP reported.

The AGCM said in a statement that the option to set up regular purchases was “pre-selected by default” on a wide selection of products listed on Amazon’s Italian website, limiting customers’ “ability to choose freely”.

It added that “the conduct implemented by the company was deemed contrary to the standards of professional diligence.”

Amazon said it “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and that it would appeal, adding: “Every day customers benefit from the Subscribe and Save programme by saving money and time on regular deliveries.”