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Tourist 'headbutts gondolier in Venice after selfie dispute'

A tourist has been filmed attacking a gondolier in Venice - BrianAJackson
A tourist has been filmed attacking a gondolier in Venice - BrianAJackson

A tourist has reportedly headbutted and punched a Venetian gondolier in an altercation, reportedly over a selfie.

The incident allegedly took place near Ponte dei Bareteri in the San Marco sestiere.

A video shows the man squaring up to the gondolier and knocking his straw hat off, before headbutting him three times and then punching him in the face.

A woman who was part of the same tourist group is heard shouting “Don’t touch him” in Spanish. The gondolier replies: “I’m not touching him”.

The tourist is then heard saying: “I’m going to punch you so hard I’ll take your head off.”

A tourist has been filmed attacking a gondolier in Venice - Credit: iStock
A tourist has been filmed attacking a gondolier in Venice Credit: iStock

The Venetian newspaper La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre reported that the man, his wife and two children – thought to be from South America – were sitting in the gondola taking selfies.

When the gondolier found the family he is said to have asked them to leave his boat, provoking the attack from the tourist.

The newspaper reported that, after the video finished, the altercation continued and the gondolier was punched and knocked to the ground.

The tourists who shot the video are heard saying: “Stop it” in the footage, which lasts nearly a minute and a half.

This is not the first time travellers have misbehaved in the floating city. In July, German tourists were fined €950 (£850) and immediately expelled from Venice after they were found making coffee on a portable stove beneath the city’s historic Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal.

Venetians protest against mass tourism in the summer of 2018 - Credit: Getty
Venetians protest against mass tourism in the summer of 2018 Credit: Getty

Venice city council is cracking down on bad behaviour as part of its #EnjoyRespectVenezia campaign, introduced in 2017, which also prohibits sitting on steps in certain parts of the city, public picnics, jumping into the canals, dropping litter, wearing inappropriate clothing such as swimwear, feeding the pigeons and riding bicycles anywhere in Venice.

Visitors are also banned from camping in the city, defacing public property with graffiti, placing padlocks on bridges or monuments and buying fake goods from illegal street vendors. The latter point is part of the Foreign Office advice, which states: “Illegal traders operate on the streets of all major Italian cities, particularly tourist cities like Florence, Venice and Rome. Don’t buy from illegal street traders. You could be stopped by the local police and fined.”

Speaking to Telegraph Travel, Venice’s councillor for tourism Paolo Mar explained the thinking behind the campaign. “Venice is unique, it’s a special city and people can have fun here. But they need to understand that Venice is not a beach. It is an important, fragile city. So when people come to Venice, they need to know the rules.”

Last month the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, also suggested Venice would benefit from a crackdown on smoking in the tourist hotspots.

“Respect for places, people and sustainability is fundamental for us,” explained the mayor at a recent forum of world mayors, who met at the Doge’s Palace. “A smoking ban would help to make Venice cleaner.”

Tourists who behave particularly badly – or who are repeat offenders – could be banned from Venice altogether, with decrees similar to those that are used to keep violent football fans out of Italy’s stadiums. The decrees are known as Daspos – an acronym for Divieto di Accedere alle Manifestazioni Sportive, or Ban on Entering Sporting Events.