Rome is to crack down on street crime and antisocial behaviour in its famed Trastevere district, a once-peaceful tourist mecca whose laid-back atmosphere is being ruined by drunken and drug-taking youths.
Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni said night-time police patrols would be beefed up in the area, which will become a bastion in the Eternal City's fight against a rising yob culture.
However, he warned that liberal laws allowing offenders back onto the streets would have to be changed if the battle is to be won.
"Just yesterday I heard about a guy who was arrested twice in two days - something which ought to be a contradiction in terms," Veltroni told a press conference.
The mayor, a prominent national political figure who is tipped to lead a nascent unified party of the centre left, said the war on a growing drink and drugs culture would have to be waged on the national level.
"I shall be meeting with other mayors to look at ways to make sure people who are caught are properly punished," he said.
Rome Prefect Achille Serra agreed that permissive laws would have to be tightened but warned that a "militarisation" of Trastevere would not work.
He stressed the importance of "encouraging the right values, in homes and schools".
Trastevere's dwindling population of long-time residents has launched protests in recent years against drug-taking, drunkenness, brawls and noise.
"They're still carrying on with their bongo drums when I leave for the market at the crack of dawn," the owner of a historic local restaurant told Rome's La Repubblica daily on Tuesday.
The worsening situation was highlighted by a video secretly filmed by a conservative MP and regional lawmaker, showing young people meeting in an alley to buy and consume drugs.
The footage taken by Francesco Giro of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party was shown on Berlusconi's flagship news channel on Monday.
Giro said his "scoop" had been a "long overdue wake-up call" for Veltroni.
He accused leftists on the city council of ignoring the "scandalous" situation in Trastevere and other historic sites, such as Campo de' Fiori, which have been turned into all-night party areas.
Giro praised Bologna's leftwing mayor, Sergio Cofferati, for battling "leftist permissiveness" in order to clean up city districts.
"Veltroni says he'd like to do the same but the lefties on his council keep sending mixed signals," Grillo said.
He said he was dedicating his clean-up campaign to Cofferati and an American tourist stabbed in Trastevere in June and now comatose.
