After a series of fatal accidents, Venice wants to install speed cameras on its canals.
The cameras will be installed along the city's waterways and fines will be issued to boats that break the rules, after local lawmakers backed a move to enforce the same laws that apply to the region's canal streets.
MP Martina Semenzato told Italian media: “The streets.” [of Venice] are the lagoon channels, so boat traffic needs to be controlled more effectively.'
Especially during the high season of summer, the city's canals are often crowded with ferries, motorboats, gondolas and other types of boats.
Boats are allowed to travel at a speed of up to seven kilometers per hour on the main canals, and at a speed of five kilometers per hour on smaller canals. However, speed limits are often flouted and there have been a number of fatal incidents in recent years, raising concerns about the safety of locals and tourists.
The cameras will be installed along the city's waterways and fines will be issued to boats that break the rules, after local lawmakers backed a move to enforce the same laws that apply to the region's streets on its canals (stock image)
In 2019, three men died in a high-speed accident in the city's lagoon, and the same year large cruise ships were banned from entering the Giudecca Canal after five tourists sustained injuries in an accident.
In 2013, a German tourist was crushed when his gondola collided with a water bus on the Grand Canal.
In 2022, a Belgian tourist stole a water taxi and took it for a high-speed ride on the Grand Canal before being stopped by police and fined.
Regulatory gaps in issuing fines to vessels found to have violated local rules have led to a backlog of administrative disputes and a rising number of unpaid fees.
Semenzato said the changes, which are still awaiting final approval from Parliament before coming into force, would make Venice safer and use new technology to detect this disregard for speed rules.
“The change will introduce a special speed camera called Barcavelox to monitor and record the speed of boats and watercraft traveling on the lagoon city’s canals,” she said.
The speed limits will also help protect the ecosystem and architecture of the Venice Lagoon, which could be further damaged by the “wave action” of boats passing through its waters.
Experts warn that the canal walls below the waterline will be affected and historic buildings will be damaged.
The announcement came as Venice prepared for its annual carnival, which begins this week and attracts millions of tourists each year.
The city's canals are often crowded with ferries, motorboats, gondolas and other types of vessels, especially during the summer peak season (stock image)
In December, the city announced plans to further combat mass tourism, announcing new limits on the size of tourist groups.
Starting in June, groups will be limited to 25 people, about half the capacity of a tourist bus, and the use of loudspeakers “which can cause confusion and disruption” will be banned, the city said in a statement.
City official Elisabetta Pesce, in charge of security, said the measures were aimed at improving the movement of groups through Venice's historic center as well as the heavily visited islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.
The city announced plans last year to test a new fee for day-trippers.
The fee of five euros (£4.34) per person applies on 29 peak days between April and mid-July, including most weekends.
It is intended to regulate crowds, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life of Venice's residents.
The U.N. culture agency cited the impact of tourism on the fragile lagoon city as a key reason it twice considered adding Venice to UNESCO's list of cultural monuments in danger.
The city escaped first by restricting the arrival of large cruise ships through the Giudecca Canal and again in September when it announced the introduction of the day-tripper fee, which had been delayed due to the decline in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But with tourism levels back to pre-pandemic levels, chaos in the floating city appears to have reached an all-time high.
Perhaps one of the most dangerous cases of disrespect for Italy's treasured attractions by tourists was the trip by two Australians who zoomed across Venice's Grand Canal on £20,000 electric hydrofoils.
The two men were filmed making waves through the main thoroughfare in August 2022, angering both tourists and locals.
One of the hooligans on the hydrofoils – a type of foil board often equipped with electrically powered propellers – was seen on his cell phone as he raced through the canal water.
Even the mayor of Venice took aim at the two Australians, demanding they be punished and offering a free dinner to anyone who could identify them.