Italy: Drought Worries, Airline Strike, Cleanup in Rome and Venice

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | May 9th, 2007 | Trackback

Alitalia’s flight attendants plan a 24-hour strike May 21, the second walkout this month. Their May 3 strike forced cancellation of 350 flights affecting some 30,000 passengers. In other news, the government declared a state of emergency in the central and northern regions because of lack of rain. The Po River, Italy’s largest, is running very low. A prolonged drought could affect both industrial output and agriculture, but thus far the action is just a precaution to accelerate aid to the region if necessary. Addressing a different issue, Rome’s residents near Trevi Fountain are appealing to the city to do something about the crowds of tourists that leave too much trash behind, and to reduce the number of large tour buses at the site because of structural damage around the fountain. In Venice, a new steward program at St. Mark’s Square will attempt to rein in tourist litterbugs, loungers and sunbathers to restore a sense of decorum to the square. Bare torsos, littering and picnicking are banned, and the stewards will patrol to enforce the rules.

Home » Disasters, Europe, Italy, Strikes, Cultural news

If you found "Italy: Drought Worries, Airline Strike, Cleanup in Rome and Venice" useful or interesting, please share it with others by bookmarking it at any of the following sites: