A group of tourists who were warned about the dangers of taking selfies in one of Venice‘s famed gondolas ended up soggy and freezing after they failed to follow instructions and capsized their boat.
According to local reports, a group of Chinese tourists had been asked by the gondolier to stop standing and shifting around in the boat, as he attempted to navigate a tricky passage under a bridge near St. Mark’s Square.
Footage posted to Tik Tok shows the tourists clinging to the side of the boat.
Aerial footage of the ordeal was also shared by the page Venezia Non è Disneyland (Venice Is Not Disneyland), a group of young Venetians who put tourists to the lagoon city on blast for their misbehaviour.
The gondolier, who had asked the group multiple times to stay seated, also fell into the canal and scrambled to help his passengers to safety.
Once they were back on dry land, the group was welcomed into the nearby La Fenice theatre to get warm.
Venice has taken a number of steps in recent years to alleviate some of the pressure on the city caused by hordes of visitors.
In 2020, the Venice gondoliers’ association reduced capacity on their boats, blaming “overweight” tourists for placing extra burden on their vessels.
And in 2022, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro condemned people who attempted to foil surf the Grand Canal as “two arrogant imbeciles who made a mockery” of his city.
The surfers ultimately paid a hefty fine each and their surfboards were seized.
The city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has also put limits on which cruise ships can sail into Venice, banning ships weighing more than 5,000 tons, are longer than 590 feet or with other characteristics that could create too much pollution or overwhelm Venice’s fragile marine environment.
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