Venice launched a new program to employ a group of people to welcome tourists and keep St. Mark’s Square clean and orderly, calling them the St. Mark’s Guardians. Among their duties are making sure visitors feel welcome and educating tourists on how to keep the lagoon clean and what behaviors to adhere to while in Venice.
“Hostesses and stewards, who will be wearing orange T-shirts, will for example explain to tourists that they can’t camp out, have a picnic, wear a bathing suit and throw waste on the pavement,” municipal police chief Marco Agostini told ANSA.
The group of 15 people, plus six high school students, will monitor the area from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. every day until the beginning of October and are authorized to report violations of the rules to the local police. They are fluent in the major European languages, as well as in Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Farsi and Turkish.
By Kathy McCabe
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