Warning -- Snack Alert in Rome

Makes sense since the areas can get messy with trash. Maybe they can do something about the wandering bootleg sellers.

I can understand if someone pulls out a blanket and sets up a picnic on a busy sidewalk, but having a snack on the Spanish Steps??

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/2304015/Rome-mayor-Gianni-Alemanno-bans-sleeping-on-street.html

Can't blame the pigeons this time...

A good reminder that if people want to be able to do things in public areas, especially as tourists, that they need to be respectful of said public areas. After all, you wouldn't want to have to pick up McDonalds wrappers from tourists in your hometown!

I am curious if the ban only applies to sitting in those areas. One would expect that you couldn't be banned from eating gelato while simply passing through. Otherwise the shops around the monuments will be in serious trouble...

Ah, decorum. I seem to recall reading in Rick Steves Rome book that it's fun to buy a slice of pizza or other carry-away treat and sit down on the Pantheon porch to eat. I guess this is banned now.

I wonder if it's OK to drink bottled water...

UH - okay ... I can tell you that this, like many laws here, will probably NOT be enforced too diligently. Well at least the "snacking" part - tourists are the PRIMARY business here! The new mayor is flexing some muscle but enforcement of any law here is certainly up for interpretation - DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!

If they truly want to crack down on litter, graffitti, trash, etc they SHOULD NOT be starting with the visitors as I have yet to see a tourist spray-painting a wall!

Ciao,
Ron

Yes, please work on the graffiti. What a turn off. We noticed that no other city we visited had the amount of graffiti that Rome did. In those cities that had some, you could see where they were continually cleaning it off in some way. We didn't see any signs of that in Rome.

In regard to the graffiti our tour guide had this to say, "The mother of the stupid is always pregnant."

By the way, a miniscule serving of gelato is about 2 euros (more than $3). Buon appetito!

There was recently a story that the carboneri (spelling?), the broadly respected police force in Italy, aren't supposed to take mistresses anymore because it undermines their credibility. I'm not sure how much enforcement we'll see.

I agree about the graffitti. Where we stayed should have been called "graffitti alley" or something like that. It's a major turn off.

But this ban makes sense. I saw some tourists tossing their Gelato cups on the street. Just because there seems to be rubbish in many areas, doesn't mean we have to join them too.