Selfie-Taking Tourists Cause Venice Gondola To Capsize

by Scott Hartbeck
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Fri December 8, 2023

Another week, another tale of tourists in Italy behaving questionably. 

A group of Chinese tourists went overboard during a gondola ride in Venice this week after reportedly refusing the gondolier's orders to sit down and stop taking selfies. 

In an incident widely shared on TikTok and Instagram, the tourists were plunged into the cold water of the Rio de la Verona canal when the boat they were riding in capsized as the gondolier was trying to navigate under a bridge. 

According to CNN, the move the gondolier was attempting to pull off required the weight on the boat to be as balanced as possible, and, before the capsizing, the gondolier had shouted at the tourists to sit down and stay still. But they didn't heed his orders.     

The gondolier also ended up in the water, where he helped to rescue the tourists. The tourists were able to recover and warm up after the incident at La Fenice Opera House. 

No one got injured in the incident, but one cell phone was lost. The gondola was left undamaged, but its blankets and chairs were thrown into the canal. 

Bottom line: always, and we mean always listen to the gondolier. 

This event comes at the end of a year that saw Venice residents officially outnumbered by tourists, the city escape being placed on the UNESCO "World Heritage Sites in Danger" list and the announcement of a fee for daytrippers set to roll out in 2024.

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