They've said it before, but this time Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno claims he means it when he says that graffiti - on buildings, monuments, trams and subway cars - will no longer be tolerated in the Italian capital. As any recent visitor has been able to note, in recent years the city's graffiti artists (sorry, no,in this case they are only delinquents) have wrought havoc on the Eternal City, damaging and defacing centuries-old buildings and churches as well as irreplaceable monuments. His administration has now passed a ruling saying that anyone writing on public or Church property will be subject to substantial fines - from 300 euros to as high as 1000 euros - and that also applies for storekeepers selling on non- bio-degradable spray paints to minors.
 
The ruling is part of a new, comprehensive plan against urban decay and includes fines for people throwing empty packs of cigarettes on the ground, abandoning old cars or scooters, or affixing unauthorized posters or advertisements. Rome authorities appear to have adopted the hard-line policy recently adopted by the city of Milan. This involved a special task force, set up in July, 2007, the imposition of hefty fines, civil suits by the city against the so-called "writers" and the establishment of a data base of tags and styles that should enable authorities to find the culprits who, if apprehended, will also be required to clean up after themselves within two weeks or face additional charges.

More or less all Italian cities (like cities elsewhere) have this problem and have chosen different ways to deal with the phenomenon, most of which have so far been unsuccessful. In Rome, the real problem will - as usual - be actually putting the crack-down into effect. There is, on all fronts, a huge gap here between il dire e il fare, what is said and what is done. This is partially due to either a lack of manpower or poor usage of manpower or - equally probable - to an absence of real commitment on the part of the Rome city police, as individuals. And this is obvious to anyone who notices the huge number of graffiti, the huge number of double-parked cars, the huge number of unleashed dogs etc. etc. etc.