Days after a woman was criticized for doing a sensual photo shoot on the steps of Italy’s Amalfi cathedral, and two people were fined for surfing Venice’s canals, tourists were arrested for allegedly stealing a gondola.
The pair, allegedly of French nationality, are accused of stealing the gondola from the Accademia station, next to the famous bridge of the same name, to take a walk along the Grand Canal in the early hours of Thursday.
Gondola owner Giorgio Bognolo said items from the boat — a cover, cushions, ornaments and other items worth several hundred dollars — were thrown into the canal before it was stolen.
He said people were arrested when three residents on a passing boat noticed the gondola “zigzagging” back and forth across the canal and realized something was wrong.
“They were laughing”
In addition to potentially facing criminal charges for aggravated theft, the duo also face a civil suit for property damage.
The gondolier told CNN he was called two hours after the robbery by police, who had identified the boat as his.
“They used it as a canoe, but a gondola is not like a canoe – it doesn’t go straight,” he said. “It’s not an easy boat to manoeuvre, it moves here and there and stops. You row it standing up, with the pitchfork” – the curved piece of wood that the single oar fits into.
“Three boys immediately saw that it had been stolen, stopped them and called the police. They saved my gondola, otherwise who knows where it would have ended up in the morning.”
Bognolo said the two tourists — both male and in their 30s — were laughing when he arrived to identify his gondola, which ended up at the Guggenheim Museum, about 300 meters from their starting point.
“They looked happy – very happy. They didn’t apologize, they didn’t apologize. They were cold, that’s what really hurt me. They were laughing like it was all a game.”
“They did a very ugly thing – if I did something like that in France, they would lock me up. they are very lucky [de terem feito isso na Itália]”.
Gondolas are not cheap mass-produced boats. Bognolo says his hand-carved vase costs €60,000 ($59,000), and he spends €3,000 a year to repaint it.
“Gondolas are really delicate and beautiful, and it takes a lot of money to maintain one,” he said. “It’s like sending your daughter to school well-groomed. I spend a lot of money to maintain it. It’s like someone touches your wife or your daughter.”
“This is not Disneyland”
Bognolo’s lawyer, Augusto Palese, told CNN that his client is seeking damages for the items allegedly thrown off the gondola, as well as scratches and damage to the vessel, totaling around €10,000 to €15,000 ($9,900 to $14,750). ). Damages will also be claimed for lost profits for the days it is under repair, plus “moral damages”.
He expects to complete the civil suit in about a month, while the criminal case can take up to six months. And he said moving forward with the charges isn’t just about the money.
“If people do damage, they have to pay for it, but it’s for our image too,” he told CNN.
“A lot of times people think they’re coming to Disneyland here, or to a theme park. In fact, a gondola is something that someone needs to live and work. You can’t just steal it. The gondola is a symbol – [danificá-la] it’s like throwing rocks at the Eiffel Tower.”
Just last week, the chief commissioner of Venice’s municipal police (another police force, which was not involved in this incident), Gianfranco Zarantonello, told CNN that tourists “steal gondolas”.
“Once they fell [de uma gôndola roubada] on New Year’s and when we caught up with them, one of them was dying of hypothermia. We saved him,” he said.
CNN reached out to Venice police for comment.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
