Kill-joy laws curb Italian passion

They are envied as a nation of free-wheeling libertarians who seem to pretty much do as they like, but Italians have become entangled in a spaghetti web of petty rules.

The multiplicity of ridiculous regulations include bans on kissing while driving a car, feeding stray cats, and building sandcastles on the beach.

More than 150 kill-joy laws have been introduced since local councils were given extra powers to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour by the Government of Silvio Berlusconi when he was elected two years ago.

Having campaigned on a law and order platform, the Prime Minister gave local authorities carte blanche to bring in laws to combat whatever "public security" menace was bothering them.

The latest example of petty bureaucracy took place last week in Vigevano, near Milan, where a young couple were hit with two fines of €160 ($290) for sitting on the steps of a local monument.The mayor of the town justified the hardline approach by saying that every month the council has to use a high-powered water hose to clean the steps of the mess left by idlers.

Across Italy, councils have come up with a range of bizarre bylaws in the interests of maintaining "public decorum".

In a challenge to hot-blooded Italian passion, Eboli, south of Naples, has introduced a law under which it is forbidden to kiss someone while driving. Transgressors face a €500 fine.

The coastal town of Eraclea, near Venice, prohibits the building of sandcastles on the beach because they can "obstruct the passage" of people strolling along the strand.

Other beach towns have banned ball games and the playing of loud music between 1pm and 4pm.

If you are caught having a smoke on the silky white beaches of Oristano in Sardinia, you risk a €360 fine.

On the island of Capri, wandering off the beach in just a bikini is banned, as is wearing noisy wooden clogs.

The Italian press thinks the whole thing has gone too far.

"Kisses, clogs and beach balls - Italy, the country where everything is forbidden," railed a headline in La Stampa.

PETTY BYLAWS

* The Tuscan town of Lucca has introduced a ban on the opening of any new kebab shops in a bid to preserve what it says is its threatened culinary heritage.

* In Novara, near Milan, groups of more than two people are prohibited from congregating in parks after 11pm.

* Down on the Amalfi Coast, setting off fireworks in the town of Positano is banned, apart from on Saturdays.

* In the upmarket Tuscan coastal resort of Forte di Marmi, the council has declared war on anyone who tries to mow their lawn at the weekend.

* Florence and Rome have cracked down hard on people cleaning car windscreens at traffic lights, with the capital announcing last week that since last October nearly 500 fines of €100 ($182) have been issued.