Homeless banned from begging in Italian beauty spot of Portofino
The town council banned begging in key areas, including the historic centre, port and main tourist streets, during this year's high season in an attempt to protect tourists from being pestered. The measure runs from July 14 to September 30.
However, a voluntary association representing homeless people has given the council 15 days to scrap the rule or face legal action. 'Begging is not a crime, and in Italy it cannot be outlawed,' said Antonio Mumulo, president of Avvocato di Strada (Street Lawyer), which filed a formal complaint on Friday.
Savannah and LeBron James are among the celebrities who have recently visited the idyllic town
OLIVER PALOMBI/THE MEGA AGENCY
Portofino has only about 400 residents but receives up to 12,000 visitors a day in peak season, with recent celebrity sightings including Madonna and Rihanna.
The ban, which was brought in by Matteo Viacava, the mayor, suggests there is a correlation between rising summer tourist numbers and the presence of beggars in the town.
As well as banning non-threatening begging in the designated areas, the measure also prohibits aggressive or repeated requests for money anywhere in Portofino. It forbids lying or sitting on the ground, on benches or under porticoes, as well as loitering with food in public spaces. Rule-breakers risk fines from €25 to €500.
The text of the council resolution claims beggars cause 'fear and apprehension among citizens and visitors' and says the ban will help protect both locals and tourists from 'exploitation'.
With visits from yachts bigger than houses, Potrofino has both wealth extremes
ALAMY
Critics, however, say it criminalises poverty. 'Portofino has declared war on poor people,' wrote Andrea Orlando, a regional councillor for the Democratic Party and former labour minister, on social media.
Avvocato di Strada also argued the ban is unconstitutional and breaches national law, citing court rulings that overturned similar rules in other Italian cities, including Verona.
'There is a growing mentality that poverty is a personal failing that must be punished,' said Mumulo. 'But poverty is often the result of life's accidents. It is wrong to punish people for being poor.'
A census by Italy's national statistics agency in 2021 counted more than 96,000 homeless people nationwide, up from about 50,000 seven years earlier.
Viacava did not respond to interview requests.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Emotional journey for Atlanta's homeless as city races to house 400 people before the World Cup
Allen Hall called it a 'very emotional experience' as he boarded a bus with more than 20 other former residents of an Atlanta homeless encampment where a close friend had been fatally injured earlier this year by a bulldozer that struck his tent. Although the city and its partners secured housing by mid-July for everyone they thought lived in the downtown encampment along Old Wheat Street, Hall and seven others moved temporarily into a hotel funded by advocates. 'It was like something was changing for us, for real,' Hall said, recalling the day this summer when friends and acquaintances moved into apartments after spending years sleeping on sidewalks. Atlanta and the agencies that provide services for the city's surging homeless population have been mobilizing resources for an ambitious plan to 'eliminate' homelessness before visitors arrive for eight World Cup games next summer. By the end of the year, they're aiming to house some 400 people living on downtown streets. There are challenges, though, including long waitlists for city-funded supportive living spaces that often require documentation unhoused people like Hall lack. Many have built communities downtown where social services are accessible, and it can be easy to miscount the number of people living in encampments. A tragic death galvanizes advocates Tensions skyrocketed after Cornelius Taylor's death in January as the city attempted to clear the Old Wheat Street encampment ahead of the celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King had preached. Amid the uproar, the city temporarily suspended clearing the Old Wheat Street encampment and others, before resuming the actions this month. Some, including Hall — who has spent more than three decades living on streets — were offered shelter spaces while case workers look for housing, but he turned that down. Many say they'd rather live on the streets than in shelters with strict rules known for poor or unsafe conditions. The city originally offered housing to 14 people case workers counted at the encampment but agreed to help others after residents and advocates said there were at least twice as many living there. Hall said he had been living at the encampment residents called 'Backstreet' for five years but didn't make the list. 'Whether or not these were residents at one time, we rallied the requisite amount of housing that we could for the individuals that were known to us,' said Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization that leads Atlanta's homelessness services. 'The additional names were brought at the last minute and we're trying to rally like we do for everybody in our system an appropriate resource for them.' Counting complications Case workers came up with the list of 14 by going to the encampment early in the morning and at night for several months to count and build relationships with those living there, according to city partners. Seven additional people have been housed, said Vassell, and most of those housed are at a supportive housing complex called Welcome House. A city spokesperson said the eight individuals advocates with the Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition were paying to house turned down offers to live in shelters. Most didn't have adequate identifying documents for Welcome House, Vassell said, but agencies are trying to find them options. Advocates want officials to act faster and say those who got housing aren't receiving enough resources. 'They say they're gonna do good things, but we can't take care of these eight people?' said Tim Franzen, a member of the Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition who has long criticized the city's policies on homelessness. 'There's been months to prepare for this. There's not a real plan.' Next steps Shun Palmour moved into the encampment with his family a few months ago after losing his smoke shop job. The city placed him, his girlfriend, two kids and his girlfriend's mother at a Motel 6. 'No one comes out and checks on us,' Palmour said. 'Nobody comes out to make sure we're eating.' Management tried to kick them out of the motel three times, and other times they got locked out of their room, Palmour said last week. He said they've been assigned a case manager from a local nonprofit but the uncertainty makes him nervous. 'We're very appreciative of what's taking place but when they stop and put us out, are we gonna end back up homeless or back on the street after this or what?' Palmour said. 'Nobody's letting us know what's the next step.' A spokesperson for the city said they are providing dinner and working to get them into housing. Hall has since moved into another temporary unit. He still wears a bracelet gifted to him by Taylor before his death. While at the hotel, he hardly left and relished feeling 'cozy' in his own space with books thrown around and news blasting from the TV. 'It's the normal things that people get to do,' Hall said. 'Take a cup of coffee, just simple things that people take for granted every day.' ___ Kramon reported from Atlanta. She is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Deported knifeman can come back to Britain because ‘he's matured'
A deported knife offender could return to Britain after an immigration judge revoked his ban because he had 'matured' since he committed the crimes. Italian Prince Umoh, 30, was deported and banned from Britain for two 'very serious' street muggings which left his victims with 'psychological trauma'. He was described as the 'ringleader' of a gang that held people at knifepoint to force them to hand over their phones. Despite being deported, he returned to the UK illegally and was jailed as a result before being removed again. An upper immigration tribunal has now overturned his ban after it decided that he had been successfully rehabilitated since he committed the offences as a teenager. It means he is no longer excluded from the UK and can return as long as he secures permission from the Home Office. 'Lawful lifestyle' Umoh was 18 when he committed the knife crimes, but told the court that he was now 'committed to a lawful lifestyle'. He was deported on June 22 2015 after a judge said he posed a risk to the public and that 'the nature of the risk was robberies, thefts with use of assaults and weapons in view of knives being used'. He entered the UK in breach of the order, served a short prison sentence for doing so and left the UK on Nov 3 2016. Since quitting the UK in 2016, he has lived in his home country of Italy and also Ireland. He sought to return to the UK after 'developing himself through education and taking up a vocation to a relatively high level'. The court was also told that he was 'clearly remorseful' and had 'matured and developed a proper attitude'. Last year, a lower immigration tribunal revoked his deportation order, but the Home Office appealed the decision, leading to the latest proceedings at the upper tribunal. As part of its appeal, the Home Office argued that 'offences involving knives were those which caused deep public revulsion'. However, Anna-Rose Landes, the upper tribunal judge, said Umoh's case was not that 'extreme'. 'It was very serious [crime], two street muggings of phones from young people with the use of a knife causing fortunately not serious physical injury but psychological trauma, with aggravating circumstances,' she said. 'Nevertheless, although Mr Umoh was the ringleader, he had not offended before, and he was only 18. The offending was not gang related. 'I observe that the public recognise that young men can commit very serious crimes for which they should be severely punished, but can also with greater maturity and reflection, rehabilitate and become useful members of society.' The judge revoked the deportation order. Judge Landes added: 'Revoking the deportation order means that Mr Umoh is no longer excluded from entering the UK by operation of law. The revocation does not itself give permission for Mr Umoh to enter the UK or remain in the UK.'
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Anti-poverty charity hits back after homeless people banned from Italy beauty spot
The decree, which would prevent homeless people asking for money, was introduced by the village's mayor Matteo Viacava on 19 May. Under new summer regulations, non-threatening begging was prohibited in tourist areas, including the port and historic centre, during peak season between 14 July and 30 September. Antonio Mumolo, president of Avvocato di Strada (National Association of Street Lawyers), called the new rules 'unlawful' and threatened legal action if they are not withdrawn or amended within 15 days. Mr Mumolo said: 'In Italy's most posh municipality, there's an ordinance in effect that prohibits any type of begging, even non-harassing ones. This is an unlawful ordinance that must be withdrawn or amended. We've given the mayor 15 days to do so; otherwise, we'll take legal action.' He added that municipalities should 'fight poverty, not the poor' as banning 'non-nuisance begging' is targeting vulnerable people and not illegal behaviour. 'In Italy, it cannot be a crime to reach out and ask for food,' said the Avvocato di Strada president. The group filed a formal notice to the municipality of Portofino on Saturday (26 July). It accused Mayor Viacava of 'waging war on the poor', adding that Portofino was punishing 'the very condition of poverty', not illegal behaviour. 'The ban contained in this ordinance is clearly illegitimate,' read the notice. Legal action to request that the ordinance be annulled will be taken if the mayor does not respond within 15 days, said The Street Lawyers Association. Daily visitors to the Italian hotspot – population around 400 – can exceed 10,000 in July and August. As of 15 July, tourists are also no longer able to walk barefoot, wear only swimwear, drink alcohol or pitch up for a picnic on Portofino's cobbles or piazza.
