Visitors fined for taking a dip in Venetian canals

THREE tourists have been fined €450 (£400) each for swimming in Venice’s canals, in the first use of stiffer penalties against unruly visitors who are maddening the city’s residents.

Two young German men were spotted by police in a canal close to St Mark’s Square at 2.30am on Saturday. One was emerging from the canal in wet underwear while the other was poised to dive in the water.

Both told police they wanted to “cool off,” from the summer heat and had no idea it was illegal to swim in Venice’s busy waterways.

The men were taken to the local police station and issued with the fines.

At lunchtime on Saturday an Australian was arrested and fined the same amount for swimming in the Grand Canal. Venetians have recently demonstrated against oafish foreign tourists as part of a growing revolt over what they call mass tourism.