Surfing the Grand Canals of Venice Cost Tourist the Wrath of Mayor

The Italian Veneto region, also known as the city of Venice is one of the most idyllic destinations in Europe. With no roads, just canals, the city intrigues the tourists with the renaissance the streams of Venice flaunts. For commuting, the Italian city needs boats and other water transportation for reaching from one end to the other. However, two tourists went against the rules and chose the surfing board for commuting.

While the Venice canals allow tourists to travel through other water transportation, the usage of surfing boards is strictly prohibited. However, oblivious to the fact two tourists paddled their way through the Venice stream and later have to pay the consequences. 

Tourists fell prey to the wrath of Italian locals

In August 2022, a pair was spotted surfing on their motorized foil surfboards along the canals of Venice. As the video of the surfers went viral, residents started to express their anger on social media. Following this, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro launched the hunt for the offenders. 

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Expressing his disappointment with the surfers, the mayor tweeted, “a mockery of the city”. Interestingly, Brugnaro also offered dinner to anyone who will help locate the surfers. The mayor mentioned, “I ask everyone to help us identify them to punish them even if our weapons are really blunt”.

However, several hours later, the authorities located the surfers and confiscated their surfboards worth 21,000 pounds. The offending tourists were identified as two Australians who were on vacation in Italy. Both of them even have to pay 1,500 euros for surfing in the canals. Taking their wrath on social media, some locals even asserted that “Venice is not Disneyland”. 

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Interestingly, as per the city guidelines for tourists, the visitors are not even allowed to swim in the canals. For not complying with the swimming rule, one tourist even has to serve 10 days in prison. While Venice represents the European renaissance and harbors some of the most beautiful mosaic buildings lined on the canals, it truly needs these kinds of strict rules to preserve its culture, don’t you think?