New rules tackling over-tourism in Venice have been introduced with tour groups limited to just 25 people and loudspeakers banned.
The new rules from Saturday say tour groups are limited to 25 people in Venice as well as the islands of Burano, Murano, and Torcello.
Loudspeakers have also been banned as they “generate confusion and disturbances”.
The Italian canal city, which attracted more than 13 million people in pre-pandemic 2019, announced the measures in December in an effort to tackle mass tourism.
The city started the efforts to limit numbers in April with a €5 fee for day visitors throughout the summer.
Venice passed a milestone last year when the number of tourist beds exceeded the number of official residents for the first time, who now number fewer than 50,000 in the historic centre.
Elisabetta Pesce, the official with responsibility for the city’s security, said last year the latest rules are “aimed at improving the management of groups organised in the historic centre”.
The tighter tourism rules come after Unesco warned last year that Venice could be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, as the impact of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to it.
However, The UN cultural body did not add Venice to the list after recognising attempts to address the its problems via an anti-flooding system and measures to reduce the impact of mass tourism.