Outrage in Venice as British couple banned and fined after swimming in major canal

A 35-year-old man and his 25-year-old Romanian partner, who live in the UK, decided to celebrate the end of their holiday in Venice with a dip in the city's iconic Grand Canal, to the horror of locals. The pair were spotted by gondoliers and reported to Italian police.

As swimming in any of Venice's 150 canals is prohibited, the couple were each fined €450 (£390) and ordered to leave the lagoon city for 48 hours, according to Italian media. The incident has prompted calls for higher fines for antisocial behaviour and permanent bans from the World Heritage Site for rule breakers. A group known as "Venice is not Disneyland" is currently campaigning against bad behaviour in the city. Several locals said the fines given to the couple were too low.

"I can't take any more of these idiots," one woman wrote on their Facebook page. "Wherever they go they create a mess."

"For others this will be an incentive to make themselves go viral," a resident wrote, while another quipped: "They should be jailed until they pay the fine, and then put on a plane dressed as they are in their bathing suits".

In 2023, Venice's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, was left furious after a man was filmed jumping off a 30-foot-high building into a canal. Five years earlier, tourists jumped from the Rialto Bridge late at night, cheered on by their friends.

Venice authorities have said that they are doing more to clamp down on irresponsible stunts by holidaymakers. Since the start of the year, officials have issued over 1000 expulsion orders for various types of violations.

"The council administration is committed to firmly combating disrespectful and uncivil behaviour, because protecting Venice means defending the dignity of a city that is unique in the world and ensuring decorum for both residents and visitors," said Elisabetta Pesce, the councillor responsible for security.

As tourists continue to pour into the lagoon city, despite the introduction of a higher entry fee of £4.25 this year, a local businessman called for a £87 entry fee to combat what he calls "obscene" overtourism. Setrak Tokatzian, president of St Mark's Square residents' association claimed the city is in a "state of calamity" and called for the charge in a bid to stem the "rivers of people" that arrive each day.

"This tourism is obscene. There's a complete explosion of overtourism like never before, with a type of people wandering around without entering shops or even knowing where they are," he said.