Story highlights
City special commissioner Vittorio Zappalorto says rules on noise restriction have been misinterpreted
He says a maximum 500 euro fine will not apply to wheeled luggage being used in the city
Zappalorto says he hopes the furore will nevertheless encourage the tourism to address noisy baggage issue
Don’t throw out your roller bag just yet.
Officials in the Italian city of Venice are denying a reported ban on wheeled luggage, saying they won’t impose large fines on tourists using them.
Last week they were widely quoted saying they hoped draft laws to be introduced in May 2015 would curb damage and disturbance from noisy bags.
The prospect of fines of up to 500 euros ($620) generated uproar and concerns about how many of the 22 million tourists who annually visit Venice would cart their luggage into a destination with restricted access to vehicles.
Now the city’s special commissioner, Vittorio Zappalorto, has issued a statement insisting proposed new noise regulations will only be directed at trolleys used by traders and are not intended as an outright prohibition.
“I firmly deny that the municipality of Venice has ever thought to ban the use of trolleys in the historical center,” he said.
‘Preservation of serenity’
The new regulations, he insisted, will apply solely to “handcarts and transpallets transporting goods on the pedestrian paths,” which he said cause severe erosion to Venice’s historic paving.
“This is particularly annoying when it happens in the early hours of the day, when many people are still sleeping.”
He added: “This doesn’t mean, however, that the municipality will ban the use of them starting from May. The draft seeks only to regulate.”
Despite the denial, Zappalorto said he hoped the furore surrounding reports of restrictions on wheeled luggage would prompt the tourism industry to address the issue of noisy bags.
He echoed earlier comments, reported by the local Il Messaggero newspaper, in which he was quoted saying a ban would hopefully inspire luggage manufacturers to introduce softer, air-filled tires.
“This will undoubtedly be a deserving action that will contribute to the preservation of our architectural heritage and to the serenity of residents and tourists themselves,” he said.