Two criminal cases were opened against tourists who illegally used drones in Italy and miraculously did not damage historical monuments. According to CNN, we are talking about a drone that landed on the roof of the historic Palazzo Venezia in the center of Rome and a drone that flew near the famous tower in Pisa.
On April 23, Italian police detained an Argentine traveler. His drone landed straight into the museum, the construction of which dates back to the 15th century and is considered a world-class architectural monument. At the same time, the man did not have permission to launch it, which means that he faces criminal prosecution. The carabinieri seized the device and informed the tourist about the violation of the no-fly zone in Rome. This was the third drone incident in Italy this month.
According to Carabinieri captain Matteo Alborghetti, the man “probably did not know about the ban on drone flights” that is in effect over the skies of all of Rome and the Vatican. “Fortunately, there were no consequences, no one was injured, and the roof of the Palazzo Venezia was not damaged,” he added.
Similar incidents with drones flying freely over Italian monuments and squares are becoming more frequent, and the incident in Rome was clearly not the last.
Prior to the incident on Monday afternoon in Pisa, a 32-year-old Romanian tourist was detained by police while he was “flying” his drone over Piazza dei Miracoli, near the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pisa Police Department said in a statement. “He wanted to take more expressive shots of the Tower,” Virgilio Russo of the police department told the publication. However, his actions also fall under the criminal article of Italian law.
In Italy, as the policeman explained, the rules for flying drones are stricter than in some other countries. To fly a flying device in urban or other crowded areas, you need a special license granted by the civil aviation authority Enac, as well as permission from the prefecture and the police.
Just a few days ago, on April 18, also in Pisa, two Mexicans in aged 18 and 26 almost destroyed a medieval tower when their drone crashed into it. But fortunately, the device did not cause serious damage.
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