The Local Italy https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed 'Venetians want you to know and experience their city': Lessons from a crowd-free weekend in Venice As Venice reopens to tourism, writer Evan Byrne takes us on a trip through the city's quiet byways and bacari bars to see what a more sustainable future version of tourism could look like. https://www.thelocal.it/20200712/a-weekend-in-venice-without-the-crowds Sun, 12 Jul 2020 10:19:47 +0200 a-weekend-in-venice-without-the-crowds OPINION: After flooding and coronavirus, is it time Venice stopped relying on tourism? First there were too many tourists, now there aren’t enough. Venice-based journalist Rebecca Ann Hughes asks: is it time for the floating city to extricate itself from its dependence on the tourist trade? https://www.thelocal.it/20200305/opinion-after-flooding-and-coronavirus-is-it-time-for-venice-to-stop-relying-on-tourism Thu, 05 Mar 2020 19:57:33 +0100 opinion-after-flooding-and-coronavirus-is-it-time-for-venice-to-stop-relying-on-tourism Five crowd-free alternatives to Italy's tourist hotspots Forget visiting Italy's overcrowded tourist sites this summer. These places have all of the beauty and none of the crowds. https://www.thelocal.it/20200220/forget-italys-swamped-tourist-hotspots-head-to-these-instead Thu, 20 Feb 2020 10:10:40 +0100 forget-italys-swamped-tourist-hotspots-head-to-these-instead Venice to begin charging entry fee from July 2020 Venice says it will start charging day-trippers to enter its packed historic centre from next summer, with fees as high as €10 planned for peak season. https://www.thelocal.it/20191025/venice-to-begin-charging-entry-fee-july-2020 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 12:59:19 +0200 venice-to-begin-charging-entry-fee-july-2020 VIDEO: Tourist head-butts Venice gondolier 'over a selfie' A visitor to Venice attacked one of the city's gondoliers after he stopped the tourist from borrowing his boat to take a selfie, according to reports. https://www.thelocal.it/20190916/tourist-head-butts-venice-gondolier-over-selfie Mon, 16 Sep 2019 13:20:47 +0200 tourist-head-butts-venice-gondolier-over-selfie No, Venice hasn't just banned cruise ships from its lagoon It's been widely reported that Venice will be “banning” cruise ships starting next month. Here's why that's not actually happening - and why it wouldn't solve Venice's problems. https://www.thelocal.it/20190810/no-venice-isnt-about-to-ban-cruise-ships-from-its-lagoon Sat, 10 Aug 2019 11:07:25 +0200 no-venice-isnt-about-to-ban-cruise-ships-from-its-lagoon Venice leads European cities in call for new cruise ship rules Venice has asked other major cruise ship destinations to join the fight against damage caused to cities by giant liners. https://www.thelocal.it/20190801/venice-leads-european-cities-in-call-for-new-rules-on-cruise-ships Thu, 01 Aug 2019 18:30:20 +0200 venice-leads-european-cities-in-call-for-new-rules-on-cruise-ships Cinque Terre town pushes train company to limit tourist numbers The mayor of two of Italy's famed Cinque Terre villages has demanded that train companies limit the number of visitors who can arrive in the tourist hotspots at once. https://www.thelocal.it/20190708/cinque-terre-town-pushes-train-company-to-limit-tourist-numbers Mon, 08 Jul 2019 16:49:42 +0200 cinque-terre-town-pushes-train-company-to-limit-tourist-numbers Venice puts off charging entry fees until next year Remember when we reported back in December that Venice was planning to start charging visitors an entry fee? Now city authorities say the charge won't come into effect until next year at the earliest. https://www.thelocal.it/20190702/venice-puts-off-charging-entry-fees-until-next-year Tue, 02 Jul 2019 12:03:24 +0200 venice-puts-off-charging-entry-fees-until-next-year Tourists fined for taking bikes through Venice shirtless Two British tourists earned themselves a double fine this week for taking bikes through the centre of Venice without shirts on. https://www.thelocal.it/20190621/tourists-fined-for-cycling-shirtless-through-venice Fri, 21 Jun 2019 19:24:36 +0200 tourists-fined-for-cycling-shirtless-through-venice Venice to kick out visitors caught behaving badly Visitors caught snacking, sunbathing or taking a dip in Venice's canals risk being kicked out of the city and banned from returning, under the latest rules aimed at reining in disruptive tourists. https://www.thelocal.it/20190520/venice-to-exile-visitors-caught-behaving-badly Mon, 20 May 2019 12:20:31 +0200 venice-to-exile-visitors-caught-behaving-badly In just nine months, nearly 500 Florence residents were turfed out to make way for tourist rentals In less than a year nearly 500 residents of Florence lost their homes to landlords looking to turn them into lucrative holiday rentals for tourists, according to the Italian tenants' association. https://www.thelocal.it/20180830/airbnb-florence-tourist-rental-evictions Thu, 30 Aug 2018 15:44:11 +0200 airbnb-florence-tourist-rental-evictions