As election fever takes a grip across the nation, the picturesque Italian village of Orta San Giulio has banned political rallies from its central square for fear of scaring away tourists.
A lakeside gem in the mountains north of Milan, Orta is praised in guidebooks for its quaint charm and the sense it gives visitors of having left behind the rowdiness of modern city life.
Acutely aware of this, Mayor Stefano Cusinato has issued a decree announcing that the central Piazza Motta is out of bounds to anyone hoping to shout about the policies of this or that party. The decree, which solemnly cites the village's "tourist vocation", has been sent by e-mail to all the local parties standing in the April 9-10 poll.
Political rallies will only be allowed in one outlying district of Orta between 5pm and 10pm on weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays local political activists can start hawking their parties an hour earlier. "Open-air political rallies cannot be held anywhere near rest homes for the aged either," the mayor's decree added.
Orta San Giulio, which has a population of 1,170, overlooks the pretty island of San Giulio where the Milanese aristocracy have villas.
