In Venice, a pair of “overbearing imbeciles” who were riding £20,000 electric hydrofoils at top speed down the Grand Canal infuriated locals.
Yesterday morning, the two guys startled both visitors and residents as they sped along the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s main road.
One of the surfers was seen shooting pictures on his phone on camera before he went into the canal waters.
Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of the Italian city, demanded that the couple be punished and even extended an invitation to a free supper to anybody who could identify them.
Here are two obnoxious idiots who make fun of the City, he remarked.
We urgently need to give the Mayors greater authority in terms of public safety, even if our tools are quite blunt. “I beg everyone to help us identify them so that we can punish them.
Those who see them are invited to supper, I say.
The mayor added: “Speaking of the two “heroes” of this morning, we have recognised them!” in a subsequent tweet.
The two boards have already been seized, and without providing any other information, the culprits will soon be in our custody and will face the appropriate charges!
“We appreciate your cooperation, everyone.”
According to local sources, the duo was punished for putting the safety of canal transportation at risk and was also kicked out of the city.
They are also accused of allegedly harming the city’s reputation.
On the famous Grand Canal, which is often lined with gondolas, tourist boats, and water taxis, surfing, paddle boarding, and canoeing are all prohibited.
Long masts that are linked to foil surfboards sometimes have electric-powered propellers incorporated into them.
It is the most recent in a string of events in Italy when visitors have enraged locals by parking their cars in places of historical significance.
An Australian visitor was detained earlier this month when he was seen riding his moped through Pompeii’s historic remains.
The 33-year-old ‘barbarian’ was captured by security after making his way around the renowned archaeological area for roughly a mile.
The 2,000-year-old complex was infamously damaged by a volcanic explosion in 79 AD, and the visitor said he was unaware that he was not permitted to drive past it.
Fortunately, the park reported that no areas of the old city were accessible or harmed in this circumstance despite the fact that the UNESCO world heritage site does not permit tourist cars.
The individual was later accused of having “unauthorised access.”
The path was a dirt road outside the historic city walls that was used by site trucks for excavation operations, the park stated in a statement.
It is secure, renovated, and off limits to the general public. Therefore, there was never any risk to either the public or the archaeological legacy.
Earlier this year, two American visitors threw e-scooters down the Spanish Steps in Rome, causing damage worth €25,000.
After being captured on video “intentionally” sending a scooter down the 18th-century Trinità de Monti staircase, a 28-year-old woman and a 29-year-old male were both fined €400 (£338) in June.
The 16th and 29th steps of the right-hand staircase suffered cracks, according to Rome’s agency for protecting cultural monuments.
A more official complaint was made against the lady for willfully harming the holy stairway, which carries a penalty of up to a year in prison or a fine of at least €2,050. This was done by pushing her scooter down the steps.
An attempt by a Saudi Arabian man to drive his rented Maserati down the steps, breaking off a piece of the travertine stone, led to charges earlier this year.