Tourist crashes a drone into Palazzo Venezia in Rome in latest incident

A 39-year-old Argentinian tourist crashes a drone into the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, Italy in the latest Drone Incident.

Last week, the man lost control of an unmanned aircraft and crashed it into the roof of the 15th-century Italian monument.

According to The Guardian, the drone was seized by building security before being handed over to Police, who charged the tourist with violating a no-fly zone.

The Palazzo Venezia is a significant historical structure from which Benito Mussolini delivered several of his most notorious speeches to mark the creation of the Italian empire in May 1936.

The national body for civil aviation, ENAC, must be contacted ahead of time if tourists want to capture aerial photographs or videos of Rome.

Due to the priceless edifices, drones are not permitted to be flown over the Vatican and the city of Rome.

Drone incidents in Italy

Unfortunately, as tourists are unaware of the rules and regulations surrounding drones, they seem to be having drone incidents rather frequently in Italy.

Only a week ago, two Mexican tourists flew their drone into the Leaning Tower of Pisa, disregarding the no-drone zone around the iconic monument.

In July 2021, a 61-year-old man was charged with an “attack against transportation security” for flying his drone above the city of Rome at a height of 6,000 feet. The case was reported to the authorities after his drone was observed by a professional pilot.

Despite having been told that operating a drone within the ancient amphitheater was prohibited, a 40-year-old Polish visitor crashed his device within the Colosseum in 2020.

Fortunately, there have been no reports of monuments being damaged as a consequence of drone collisions.

It is unclear if penalties were levied, but fines for breaking drone laws can range from €516 ($545) to €64,000 ($67,647).

Photo credit: Sergio Calleja

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