Naples in a spin after laundry drying ban

A BAN on hanging washing on lines strung across streets and alleyways has provoked furious indignation in Naples.

Wet sheets and clothes hanging from windows are as commonplace in the Italian city as speeding scooters and the aroma of freshly baked pizza.

But its authorities have told residents put an end to the practice as part of a campaign to improve the “decorum and safety” of the famously chaotic port.

They say there is a risk wet laundry will drip on passersby. But residents say there are more things to worry about in Naples, the heartland of the ruthless Camorra mafia, where a man aged 66 died in a hail of bullets on Wednesday.

The yet to be approved draft regulation provoked disbelief among many Neapolitans and a social media hashtag, #iostendo [“I will hang out (washing)”] has appeared. “This is a blow to our identity,” said Pino De Stasio, a councillor. Laura Guerra, a local journalist, said: “Given high energy costs, are we really going to have to buy dryers?”