Dream Roman Holidays could be a nightmare for anyone visiting Italy in the coming days. Such large numbers are expected at the country’s popular destinations around a major holiday that special measures are being put in place to keep tourists in check.
The Italian Ministry of Tourism reports that 13 million Italians will travel around the country around August 15 as the country celebrates the holidays together. Ferragosto, an ancient holiday first instituted by Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire, to give workers a break, and the Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary.
Add to that the millions of tourists who visit the country from outside and you have a recipe for chaos, bad behavior and unfortunate accidents that regularly make the news, both in Italy and around the world.
That’s why many places are trying to control the chaos by deploying new rules and technology.
From the island of Sardinia to the heel of Italy’s boot in Puglia, access to many popular beaches is now only granted by booking via an app in a bid to control crowds. Meanwhile, plastic, smoking and in some cases even towels and chairs are banned from the sand for the next few days, according to Italian media.
Ban on night swimming
Some beaches on the island of Sardinia, which has seen record numbers of tourists this summer, have banned the use of rocks to anchor beach umbrellas. The communities of Santa Teresa di Gallura and Sant’Antioco say anyone who fails to comply will face a 500 euro ($550) fine, according to local media.
In Sardinia too, the mayor of northeastern Olbia has banned late night swimming, camping on the beach, campfires and even the use of chairs and towels at night to allow for all-night partying. A deadline for the music to stop at 5am may seem a bit excessive to some.
Elsewhere, the rules are stricter. In Sassari, in northwestern Sicily, music must stop at 2 a.m. In the resort enclaves of Platamona, Porto Ferro and Argentiera, the cutoff date is 3 a.m., according to an ordinance published by the islands’ mayors.
Temporary traffic lights have been installed in Rome, Florence and Venice to control crowds in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, to prevent people from taking selfies and blocking the flow of traffic.
On the Amalfi Coast, authorities will regulate the number of vehicles blocking the picturesque roads by limiting even and odd license plates on certain smaller streets during busy times of the day, Campania’s local tourist office said.
Path closures
The island of Capri will follow suit with a tourist entrance fee introduced by Venice earlier this year, charging double the usual landing fee for arrivals during the busy holiday weekend.
Some mountain destinations in the Trentino region of northern Italy are using monitors to keep track of the flow of hikers and will close trails that become too busy, the regional government said.
Augusto Sartori, regional councillor for tourism, announced on Wednesday that hotel occupancy on the Mediterranean coast in northwestern Liguria has now reached 99%, effectively selling out the region for Ferragosto.
Even escaping to the sea isn’t really an option for those who haven’t booked in advance.
The Italian cruise tourism industry estimates that there will be more than 65,000 passengers in Genoa, with six ships calling at 12 ports in the two weeks before and after August 15. In Civitavecchia near Rome, around 59,000 cruise passengers are expected in the same period. In Naples there will be 45,000 and in Bari around 25,000 passengers will disembark to join the mix.
Italy’s Tourism Minister Daniele Santache has called the problem of overtourism “blasphemy” but stressed that Italy is doing something about it as the country prepares for even bigger increases in visitor numbers in the coming years.
“For me, overtourism is blasphemy. The problem is rather the management and control of it, as we have started to do since we came to power,” she told La Nazione newspaper in her native Tuscany.
“We are also preparing the way for future challenges, from Milan-Cortina (the 2026 Winter Olympics) to the Jubilee (a religious festival in Rome in 2025), which will be an opportunity to make lesser-known realities known, create a diversified tourist offer and enhance our beautiful villages.”
Italy, like many other places in the world, struggles with overtourism during peak season. This problem can negatively impact both the quality of life for people living in popular destinations and the quality of vacation that visitors experience.
That is probably not what Emperor Augustus had in mind when he instituted Midsummer’s Day.
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