Celle Ligure on the Italian Riviera is fining people wearing swimsuits in public
The fishing village of Celle Ligure on the Italian Riviera is famed as a picture-perfect destination.
With fewer than 4,500 residents, its sandy beaches and pastel-coloured homes are a draw for tourists seeking a more low-key holiday than the more famous of Liguria‘s attractions such as Cinque Terre or Portofino.
However, misbehaving tourists and locals are ruining the village’s charm, particularly its old district and now the mayor Marco Beltrame is cracking down on bad behaviour.
“I gave special intervention powers to the local police to stop and eventually fine people who repeatedly go around bikini-clad or bare chested, all dog owners who leave dog poo on the pavement, and smokers who throw cigarette butts on the ground, which inevitably end up in the sea,” Beltrame told The i Paper.
Owners walking their dogs are required to not only pick up their pets’ mess and take it away in a plastic bag, but also to carry a water bottle to wash the pavement.
Fines for transgressors range between €25-€500 (£22-£435), with the highest reserved for “recidivists” or those who do not listen to police recommendations.
Beltrame says he is keen to emphasise that the new rules, which will be permanent, will start “soft” this year with a degree of tolerance and flexibility in the hope people will change their behaviour.
“The other day we fined two ladies who had left their dogs’ poo on the sidewalk €100 [£87] each, but as it’s the first year of such measures, my campaign is primarily of moral persuasion and spreading awareness. The goal is not to raise money or be moralists, but to educate,” said Beltrame.
The aim is also to help bar and shop owners who on a daily basis are having to deal with rude clients walking in or sitting at tables barefoot, bare-chested or in swimsuits.
The town hall has placed more ash trays at the beach facing the historic centre, just 10 metres away from the boutiques and cafés, and added more containers for dog mess so “people are given more chances to stick to the law”, the mayor said.
Each day, police in civilian clothes patrol the carrugi, or winding alleys, of the car-free old district to spot misbehaving visitors – and even residents.
Beltrame said his child recently ran over dog poo while on his bicycle. “Disgusting, it stuck to the wheels and took ages to remove. It’s a matter of civil education,” he said.
Gabriele Maio, the owner of a bar in the old town, complained that “dripping wet” and barefoot sunbathers coming from the nearby beach would walk right into his establishment, and often sit there wearing only their bathing suits.
“I refuse to let them inside or sit at the outdoor tables. So I tell them to dry, put on a shirt and shoes, or leave. It’s become unbearable”, he told The i Paper.
“The other day this man just walked in, totally oblivious of the bans, wearing a sort of bathing suit that looked like an underwear”.
Simone Rossi, a remote worker who moved to Celle Ligure from Milan four years ago, expecting pristine nature and silence, said that discarded cigarette butts were turning the village into an “open-air trash can”.
“Smokers at the beach just throw the butts on the sand when I go for a swim or to relax. Seeing and stepping on these cigarette butts scattered everywhere is revolting and unacceptable. Where has decency gone?” said Rossi.
Beltrame said that cigarette butts thrown in manholes inevitably flowed down to the sea, contributing to marine pollution.
Celle Ligure is not the only place in Italy clamping down on littering, bad behaviour, and poor dress sense.
In Portofino, west of Celle Ligure, temporary laws are targeting tourists who walk around in swimwear or wear insufficient clothing and banning them from sitting down to eat in the streets.
The coastal town of Gallipoli in Puglia has also banned bikini-clad women and bare-chested men from walking in its walled seafront citadel, with fines of €125/ £109. However, these measure only run for summer until September. Entering public offices in shorts and tank top is also banned.
Resident Paolo Lorusso will be fleeing from the area in August, going to a less popular island in Sicily.
“You see women walking along the main corso in thongs and men without shirts trying to get into bars for a beer. The sad thing is that most misbehaving tourists are Italian,” he said.
