Italian city mulling ban of gelato and pizza after midnight
Milan is considering a ban on takeaway gelato and pizza after midnight. Photo: Getty
One of the most popular tourism cities in Italy is considering the ban on gelato and pizza sales after midnight.
In a bid to create more “balance between sociability and entertainment, [and] the peace and health of residents” within Italy’s fashion capital, Milan’s deputy mayor for security Marco Granelli has proposed a ban on all takeaway food and drink.
Which means, takeaway gelato and pizza as a late-night treat could soon be a thing of the past.
The ban would prevent such sales from 12.30am to 6am on weekdays, and 1.30am to 6am on weekends.
The ban would be applicable to the city’s 12 “nightlife areas” and it could come in as early as mid-May.
“The municipality wants to act in the most critical areas and in the most active period, working on those external activities that have the greatest impact on noise, on the useability of sidewalks and streets and on access to homes, on decorum and on safety,” Granelli wrote in a press release on his website.
“We believe in a living city, where young and old people have spaces to be together, where there are entrepreneurs capable of offering quality and work, where we are safer, but at the same time avoid some situations that where we are close to homes, in some hours there is a limit and attention to those who live in the city.”
The ban would aim to create a more peaceful Milan of a nighttime.
Retailers want gelato and pizza to stay
Although the secretary general for the Milan branch of the Italian retailers association Marco Barbieri can appreciate the noise of people out and about of a night time can be disturbing to residents, he is against the ordinance Granelli has put forward.
“If an Italian family goes out for a pizza and wants to go for a walk after and have a gelato, they will be fined under this ordinance,” he said according to CNN.
To ensure everyone, rowdy or otherwise, is happy, he said there could be a compromise, like keeping open public spaces such as parks later into the night.
Barbieri also believes the time that was put forward neglects to acknowledge the lifestyle many people in Milan live.
He said most young people in the city don’t go out for dinner until about 10pm.
“We hope they remove gelato, water and pizza from the list [of banned takeaways]. Leave the alcohol ban, but make it later in the evening,” he said.