US tourists fined for taking a dip in Rome’s Trevi Fountain
Two American tourists were fined and handed a temporary city ban after police caught them taking a dip in the waters of Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain around 5.30pm on Friday, La Repubblica reported.
Police officers patrolling the area spotted the two tourists, aged 53 and 57, just as they dived in and ordered them to exit the fountain, the report said.
In addition to a fine, whose amount was not specified, the pair received a temporary ‘Daspo’ ban – similar to an ASBO (anti-social behaviour order) in the UK – keeping them from returning to Rome’s city centre for a period of time.
Fines for swimming in any of Rome’s fountains have been in place since 2015, but this hasn’t stopped multiple visitors from recreating a scene from Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita, in which late Swedish actress Anita Ekberg was pictured jumping into the Trevi Fountain.
Friday’s incident came less than a month after a 28-year-old Swiss tourist was fined €550 and given a temporary city ban for taking a late-night dip in the fountain in early August.
League party calls for citizenship application suspension for crime suspects
A League party proposal to suspend Italian citizenship applications for foreign nationals suspected of serious crimes was set to be discussed in the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, September 2nd, La Repubblica reported on Sunday.
Under the law proposal, foreign nationals suspected of “grave crimes against the state or other people” would see their applications suspended until the end of the relevant legal proceedings, League MP Laura Cavandoli said.
“Clearly, if there is an acquittal, the suspension is lifted, whereas if there is a conviction, the consequence is the denial of citizenship,” she added.
The proposal came after Moussa Sangare, a 31-year-old Italian man of Malian origins, confessed to the murder of 33-year-old Sharon Verzeni in Terno d’Isola, near Bergamo, in late July, with the case sparking an intense debate on Italian citizenship criteria.
“Are these the new Italians we’re aspiring for?” League MP Laura Ravetto asked provocatively on Friday.
Riccardo Magi, an MP from the centre-left More Europe party, replied saying: “Is this the ruling majority Italians deserve? Using a news story to oppose a discussion on citizenship is pure exploitation”.
Watchman woke captain ahead of Sicily yacht sinking: reports
The crewman on watch duty the night that the Bayesian superyacht sank off Sicily’s coast, killing UK tech mogul Mike Lynch and six others, sounded an alarm and woke the captain, Italian media reported on Sunday.
“I monitored the weather conditions all evening,” including wind that was coming in around 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph), Matthew Griffiths said, according to news agency Ansa, which did not provide a source.
“I then immediately woke the captain who took charge of operations. He gave the order to wake the others,” he added, according to Ansa.
READ ALSO: Watchman sounded alarm and woke captain ahead of Sicily yacht sinking: reports
Prosecutors in Sicily last week opened an investigation into potential shipwreck and manslaughter charges in relation to the sinking.
Captain James Cutfield, aged 51, from New Zealand, British engineer Tim Parker Eaton, and Griffith, the crewman on duty watch on August 19th, were all under investigation.
Four inmates captured after escaping from Milan juvenile prison
Four inmates who escaped from Milan’s juvenile detention facility Cesare Beccaria amid a nighttime riot were recaptured in the early hours of Sunday, Italian media reported.
The four inmates “managed to climb over the prison wall” but were all “located within the perimeter that encloses the facility” following an hours-long manhunt, national penitentiary police coordinator Gennarino De Fazio said.
The escapees took advantage of the chaos caused by a nighttime riot which saw multiple inmates bypass the prison’s security measures and reach the reception area.
At least eight inmates were injured during the disorders, with one requiring hospital treatment, according to Prison Police Union secretary Aldo Di Giacomo.
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Hate to say this, but I think fines for jumping in fountains are too low. While a temporary city ban is good, requiring to offenders leave the city altogether (losing ALL your vacation money) is a better deterrent. People’s lack of civic responsibility has only continued to increase, these incidents seemingly never-ending. History mentions people being “run out of town.” I’m thinking the system might better instill discipline in today’s tourist. (Yes, I’m being medieval.)