The summer of wrong bans

Portofino started it, then Camogli and other municipalities followed. To preserve “decorum” they erase the poor, ban begging, and make life harder for the middle class, which can no longer afford the steep prices of art cities. They criminalize low-budget “hit-and-run” tourism, forgetting (alas!) post-war Italy, when people travelled—like many workers today—with sandwiches in their pockets.

In Portofino, a municipal ordinance bans begging—even if non-aggressive—and eating food while sitting on the ground. The measure, signed by the mayor, is in force until 30 September and aims to protect the town’s exclusive tourist vocation. Anyone caught asking for alms—even politely and without bothering passers-by or tourists—risks an administrative fine, especially in central areas, near churches, in public car parks or along the Umberto I pier. That’s how poverty is erased! We’ve heard this before, haven’t we?

But that’s not all: eating sandwiches or focaccia while sitting on pavements, benches, steps or directly on the cobblestones of the old town is also forbidden. The rule is part of a set of restrictions designed to prevent Portofino from becoming an “open-air picnic area” during high season. Among the bans—one hard to disagree with—is bivouacking, meaning staying for a long time with blankets, backpacks and food on public walls. I remember my brother, a priest, cycling to Lourdes and sleeping outdoors and in the fields: forbidden!

Of course, the intention to preserve urban decorum is understandable, especially in a place like Portofino, where high-end tourism is the main economic driver. However, placing in the same category people eating sandwiches on the ground and people driven to poverty who are simply trying to survive inevitably raises an ethical issue. Have we forgotten that we have all gone to shrines, to the mountains, to the seaside bringing sandwiches, drinks, even casseroles, all set on a plaid? I have travelled all over Europe more than once eating sandwiches with a wonderful band of “ragamuffins” like me at lunchtime, with dinner at hotels. No one ever fined us—not at Notre Dame, not in Vienna, not in Santiago de Compostela, Paris, nor behind St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. What kind of world are we entering?

Banning street eating or walking around in swimwear might seem like common sense, but a ban on even non-aggressive begging risks becoming a form of social exclusion disguised as urban regulation. In practice, it protects the image, not the people or their dignity.

It is fair to ask tourists not to treat historic centres as picnic parks, but criminalizing the presence of the poor and the middle class means ignoring real hardship. Deep down, it is the same logic behind the fight against overtourism. If the cost of lodging and meals is too high, those who cannot afford them—in Venice as in the Langhe—look around, eat from their pockets, and then leave. About the poor in Portofino, The Times does not mince words. The British newspaper writes: “The ordinance is an attempt to erase any sign of poverty from the streets” and lists figures: “In Italy in 2021 there were 96,000 homeless people, 50,000 more than seven years earlier.” Shall we erase them? Grotesque!

NP August/September 2025
Gian Mario Ricciardi