Venice, boorish tourists picnic on vera da pozzo in S.Zaccaria: fines of 4,200 euros

With the return of tourism, boorish tourists are also returning to Venice, and what boorish ones: a small group of four tourists, on the evening of June 3, thought to set the vera da pozzo in front of the church of San Zaccaria to improvise a picnic. Complete with plates of pasta and glasses of wine, all in front of the guesthouse where they were staying. The four, two German citizens and two Czechs, evidently thought it possible to set up, as if it were a picnic table, a late 15th-century sculpture.

In fact, the San Zaccaria well-curb, made of Istrian stone, is one of the oldest and most interesting in the city and features elaborate decorations (cherubs, a helmet, a shield, amphorae, plant motifs, and at the corners four scrolls). The four were seen bivouacking both by passers-by, who photographed them, and by the local police, who, called by citizens who witnessed the scene, fined them heavily: 1,050 euros each, for a total of 4,200 euros, for various penalties: improper use of monumental areas, acts contrary to decorum in relation to the consumption of food and drink (in fact, it is not possible to take plates and glasses off the premises, as the four tourists did), and consumption of alcohol on the public street.

In short, a dinner that cost the four boors dearly. They probably would have spent less if they had eaten in the most expensive restaurant in town....

Pictured is the pit vera on which the four tourists bivouacked. Photo by Wolfgang Moroder

Venice, boorish tourists picnic on vera da pozzo in S.Zaccaria: fines of 4,200 euros

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