Keep Moving: Italian Riviera Hot Spot Imposes a Selfie Ban

The picturesque town of Portofino has recently imposed an ordinance fining tourists who stop for too long to take selfies. During low tourist season, Portofino’s population is only about 500 people. When high season approaches, the seaside town swells in the thousands. On social media the hashtag #portofino has reached up to 1.2 million posts. 

The ordinance comes after Portofino has established two “red zones,” or areas to prevent tourists from stopping to take photos in front of many popular attractions, like the Ligurian sea or the colorful buildings speckled throughout the city. According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the ordinance is to help with the problems with the fluidity of pedestrian and vehicular traffic and to alleviate serious obstacles and potential danger deriving from the excessive density of people.

Tourists caught in the red zones taking selfies or photographs could be fined anywhere between 68 and 275 euros, roughly $74 to $300 for the violation. The ordinance went into effect in early April and ends October 15th. These zones are active from sunrise until 6:00pm daily. 

In a statement to Corriere della Sera, Portofino mayor Matteo Viacava said, “the rules are to help all tourists who reach Portofino to be able to make the most of the village but also manage security in the square.” The ordinance has yet to see any impact, but it has only been enforced for a few weeks. 

Portofino isn’t the only city to enforce restrictions on tourists to maintain safety precautions. In 2021, Venice tracked its visitors via CCTV networks as well as with mobile phone tracking systems. In 2022, Naples created new rules for one-way foot traffic. Bolzano in the Dolomites is capping the amount of visitors who can enter the entire region as well as restricting the amount of hotel rooms tourists can reserve.