There are reports of drones being used to find hidden air conditioners in Italy’s richest municipality.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a colourful fishing village on the Italian Riviera, a battle over air-conditioning has broken out.
Iconic Portofino has been sweltering in 33°C highs this week, forcing its tight-knit community of around 400 people to seek relief.
But its status as a regional national park brings limitations: residents must gain permission to install air-con units on their homes, and these must be placed discreetly to avoid disrupting the town’s pastel-perfect image.
Portofino was named as Italy’s wealthiest municipality in April by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its pretty seafront has drawn celebrities through the ages from Winston Churchill to Princess Diana and most recently Madonna, who is currently visiting for her 66th birthday celebrations with Dolce and Gabbana.
But she’s arrived to a town up in arms: residents are reportedly snitching on one another for having illegal air-con units and police are patrolling the streets to sound them out.
Illegal air-con units are proliferating in heatwave-hit Portofino
Between the start of the year and May, 22 cases of illegal air-conditioners were reported in Portofino, according to Italian daily newspaper La Stampa.
When new inspections were carried out in July, another 11 violations were discovered - primarily on three streets near the main square, La Piazzetta. Almost half of these units appeared to have been freshly installed in the face of this summer’s heatwave.
Meddling neighbours, annoyed by the sound or look of these external air-conditioners - or even retaliating against reports made against them - have allegedly sent anonymous emails to police with photos attached, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper says.
These have been followed up by police, who ask offenders to remove the illegal units - some of which have been painted in an attempt to blend in with the buildings - or face hefty fines of up to €50,000.
Are police using drones to search for illegal air-con units?
Units placed on roofs are trickier to find but in some cases have been identified by sound. Local news reports claim that drones have also been used to search for them, though Portofino Mayor Matteo Viacava denied this in an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian.
“We just want to ensure that the constraints are respected and [the] beauty of Portofino is maintained,” he said. “They need to be put in places that are not visible. Slowly, slowly, we are getting it all in order.”
Removing the offending units will “give more value to our village”, Viacava also told Corriere.
With high-end shopping and dining, and a port lined with superyachts, Portofino is a playground for the global jet-set. In June, access to the village’s pretty bay was blocked by lavish, €139 million pre-wedding celebrations for Anant Ambani, eldest son of India's richest man, complete with a performance by Andrea Bocelli.
The air-con crackdown has been spurred by Italy’s scorching hot summer - the country has just faced its hottest weekend of the year, with temperatures soaring above 40°C in some regions and red weather warnings issued. Italy, like many other parts of Europe, is warming at an alarming speed due to human-caused climate change.
But the energy-guzzling units are not the only targets of the town’s beautification measures: Viacava is also reportedly cracking down on satellite dishes, telling Corriere “it is not sustainable to have so many”.
