Italy

Italy: Rome Taxi Company Trying to Improve Drivers’ Reputations

Date: December 3rd, 2009 |

Rome is trying to make tourists feel more welcome and reduce scams perpetrated against them with billboards that proclaim “Rome loves tourists” and posters with the slogan “Be smart, don’t try to be clever” aimed at service providers, not visitors. Part of the campaign is meant to burnish the reputation of Rome’s taxi drivers by [read more]

Italy: Vandals Pollute Capri’s Blue Grotto

Date: August 27th, 2009 |

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Authorities closed Capri’s famous Blue Grotto for the second time in a week after reports of foam and a stench in the popular sea cave. On Aug. 20 officials arrested two men who were pumping raw sewage into the grotto from a tanker truck that collected cesspool sewage from local homes. Within days the sewage [read more]

Italy: Vigilante Patrols Widespread in Italy

Date: July 22nd, 2009 |

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Vigilante “citizen patrols” have become widespread in Italy, with different groups forming in different cities and many affiliated with political groups. Since July 8 they have received the sanction of the national government, which passed a law legalizing such organizations as part of an anti-crime bill. Some, such as the “Italian National Guard,” espouse far-right [read more]

Italy: Passport Controls Imposed for G8 Summit

Date: June 24th, 2009 |

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Italy will reinstate passport controls within its Schengen borders for the G8 Summit to be held in L’Aquila July 8-10. The passport controls will be in place from June 28 to July 15. All travelers arriving in Italy will need to be prepared to show their passports to enter. The Schengen area comprises 25 European [read more]

Italy: Abruzzo Earthquake Takes Its Toll

Date: April 8th, 2009 |

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The earthquake that hit L’Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region, killing more than 200 and rendering at least 50,000 homeless will set back tourism in the area that has recently been emerging as a tourist destination. The mountainous region with hilltop medieval villages and large stretches of National Park land lies just a 90-minute drive [read more]

Italy: Capri’s Blue Grotto Reopened

Date: September 2nd, 2009 |

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Authorities reopened Capri’s Blue Grotto Aug. 27 when laboratory tests showed the water contained nothing toxic. The famous grotto had been closed twice in a week after two men were arrested for pumping sewage into the sea there and later when an unusual foam and odor appeared in the grotto. The popular tourist attraction is [read more]

Germany: Berlin Railway Service Disrupted Until December

Date: July 22nd, 2009 |

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A cracked wheel that caused a derailment in May has disrupted train service in and around Berlin. National railway authorities removed from the system all trains whose wheels had not been inspected, and because so many cars need to be checked the situation could last for months, with full service restored by December. Trains have [read more]

Italy: Rome Restaurant Swindles Tourists, Gets Shut Down

Date: July 8th, 2009 |

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Tourists being overcharged by restaurants in Rome is nothing new, but the case of a Japanese couple who were charged almost $1,000 for lunch at the Passetto restaurant produced an unusual result: authorities shut the place down. Officials compared menu prices against charges on the receipt, found dramatic differences, and also uncovered health violations in [read more]

Italy: Mafia Ex-Cons Now Show Tourists Around Naples

Date: June 17th, 2009 |

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In a novel way to help ex-convicts avoid returning to a life of crime in the Camorra mafia, Campania authorities have trained about 70 of them to help tourists negotiate the streets and alleys of Naples. They wear yellow jackets, caps and ID cards and are posted at tourist areas around the city, including the [read more]

Italy: Venice Tides Highest in 20 Years

Date: December 3rd, 2008 |

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The fourth highest tide in Venice’s recorded history caused the city’s worst flooding in 20 years Dec. 1. St. Mark’s Square was knee high in seawater and authorities asked tourists to stay away. Hotel owners, however, tried to reassure guests who called in to cancel, saying this has happened before and the crisis has passed [read more]

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