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Anger in Venice as French tourist spreads ashes from water bus
Venetian authorities launched an investigation after the woman allegedly broke rules that require ashes to be scattered at least 500 metres from inhabited areas.
Summary
From picnicking in piazzas to swimming in the canals, tourists in Venice are constantly breaking the rules, but a French visitor has incurred particular wrath by scattering a relative’s ashes in the lagoon from a speeding vaporetto, or water bus. The middle-aged woman, wearing sunglasses and a striped top, was filmed by a friend as she emptied the remains into the water after getting on the boat from a jetty near St Mark’s Square. Video footage showed her producing a plastic bag and tipping the contents into the water in front of the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos got married last summer. It is illegal to scatter human ashes into the lagoon in front of St Mark’s Square and the woman may now face a hefty fine. Venetian authorities have launched an investigation.