A significant number of illegal souvenir and food stands were seized at the entrance to Pompeii on Monday, with 63 individuals placed under investigation for occupying public land.
The Carabinieri confiscated 46 illegal stands and gazebos located near the entrances to the Pompeii archaeological site, specifically in Piazza Esedra, Piazza Anfiteatro, and Via Roma. The operation was carried out by officers from Torre Annunziata, who acted on a preventive seizure order targeting those involved in the illegal occupation.
The investigation primarily focused on stands selling souvenirs, but also included bars and ice cream parlours, which have become a common sight in the area.
Time for action at other tourist sites
It is not just Pompeii which suffers from a surfeit of illegal vendors. Each of the large cities is inundated with people selling wares illegally outside key sites.
Sarah, a certified tour guide in Florence, is fed up with the constant hassle from those touring illegal goods.
“When we are queuing to get into places such as the Uffizi and the Accademia, there is a constant barrage of illegal vendors. They may not all have stands, but they take up space laying out their wares on the street.
Woe betide anyone who accidentally stands on one of their posters; you will be verbally abused.
It’s time the directors of the museums were forceful with the police and council authorities, and got them to act. They are more than happy to get column inches suing fashion houses and so on for unauthorised use of images of David and the Birth of Venus, for example. But when it comes to what is happening literally on their doorstep, they seem to turn a blind eye.”
