Brit fined £426 for making simple mistake on holiday
A BRITISH tourist was stung with a €500 (£426) on Saturday, after making a very easy mistake while on holiday.
The 42-year-man was visiting Rome’s Piazza di Spagna during his Italian break.
However, he was caught by Rome police officers when he dipped his feet in the fountain to cool off.
Not only is this banned, with the strict fine, but he was also issued with a temporary ban from returning to the area, according to local media.
A number of holidaymakers have been fined for jumping into Rome’s fountains in recent months, after the country struggled with temperatures as high as 40C.
While tourists can use the free drinking water fountains at the landmarks, going into them is banned.
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Italian hotspots have very strict rules in place for tourists visiting some of the iconic landmarks, with a number of holidaymakers being caught out.
An American tourist who caused more than £20,000 worth of damage to Rome’s iconic Spanish Steps when she threw an e-scooter down them was fined just £430.
Inn Venice, tourists can be fined £250 if they fail to buy a day pass to visit while in 2019, a tourist was fined £225 for sunbathing in her bikini while in the Italian hotspot.
Sorrento has gone one step further and banned bikinis – and you could be fined as much as £425.
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And if you are heading to Sardinia, don’t take shells or sand from the beach.
Customs police on the Mediterranean island slapped 41 travellers with penalties up to €3,000 (£2,580) in just days last summer.
It’s not just Italy either – in Greece, fines up to £775 can be handed out to tourists for breaking a number of unknown rules.
And in Spain, you could be fined hundreds if caught smoking on a number of beaches, or wearing swimwear in some resort towns.