Venice Wants to Outlaw Your Rolling Suitcase

You may need to ditch your rolling suitcase if you plan on visiting Venice in the future. Under a new proposal introduced yesterday, the Italian city would fine tourists caught with a suitcase on plastic or hard rubber wheels up to $620 beginning in May, the Local reports. Apparently the din from luggage rolling on the city's centuries-old paving slabs and bridges drives Venetians bonkers, keeps them up at night, and amounts to "noise pollution," per the city council. It says the incessant wheeling is also slowly damaging the slabs.

What would be permitted: luggage with rubber wheels filled with air, though the city council acknowledges such baggage is hard to find. It also notes that enforcing the ban widely would be pretty tough—60,000 tourists pour into the city daily. Further, the Telegraph describes wheeled bags as a must in a city whose lack of roads means tourists typically have to walk (or take a water bus) to their hotel. Still, the city hopes a company will jump at the opportunity to make specifically Venice-friendly bags. (A town in Hawaii wants to ban tourists altogether.)