Allegedly…

In Venice, Italy, two tourists from Australia used their surfboards and they surfed on the Grand Canal.

Venice is a very old city with beautiful architecture. On the canals people can use only the special boats called “gondolas” for tourists because they do not have motors and so they are very quiet on the water.

gondola on a canal in Venice
Gondola on a canal / Photo by Dorjan Frrokaj

But the tourists from Australia didn’t care about other people. They used their surfboards with motors and so they were very loud. But they had bad luck. Someone saw them and filmed them on his mobile phone.

When the mayor of Venice, Mr Luigi Brugnaro, saw the video, he called these two tourists “imbeciles”. He said that he will give free dinner to people who will help him find and catch these tourists.

Australian tourists in Venice on their surfboards

Of course, they found and caught these two tourists from Australia. Allegedly, they got a fine of €1500 per person. And also, the mayor will take these tourists to court because, as he says, now Venice has a bad image because of them.

So, when you go to Venice for holidays, do not use your own motor boats or your motor surfboards. The police will find you and catch you and you will have to pay a fine.

architecture /ˈɑːkɪtektʃə(r)/ – architektúra

have bad luck – mať smolu

a fine /faɪn/ – pokuta

court /kɔːt/ – súd

take to court – dať na súd

because of – kvôli