If you think a proposed ban on pizza after midnight sounds unthinkable in your city, imagine how it’s going over with the people of Milan, Italy. Yet it could take effect as early as next month if the city’s lawmakers have their way.
The ban would apply to gelato, too.
Yes, pizza and gelato. Apparently, those foods get the Milanesi a little too excited during their late-night outdoor revels.
According to Sky News and other media outlets, the proposal from Milan’s city government would prohibit the sale of the Italian classics and other takeaway foods at outside tables after 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and 1:30 a.m. on weekends. It would start in mid-May and continue until November.
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And it likely won’t be a hit with many in Milan. The city tried to impose a similar ban in 2013, sparking outrage in the city that’s given rise to famous pizzerias like Starita, Gino Sorbillo Lievito Madre, Marghe and Pizza Big.
So what’s the thinking behind the ban? Late-night drinking and noshing in the streets draws big, noisy crowds and keeps locals awake, it seems. “The goal is to seek a balance between socializing and entertainment and the peace and tranquility of residents,” Deputy Mayor Marco Granelli has said.
A previous Milanese mayor, Giuliano Pisapia, pushed for a similar measure in 2013. But the move prompted what Sky News calls a “fierce backlash” and even an “Occupy Gelato” movement that saw a throng of angry ice cream sellers protesting outside city hall.
In response to the furor, Pisapia soon backpedaled on the proposal, The Independent reports, and claimed it was all just a big misunderstanding. “If there was a mistake on our part, it’s already been corrected,” he said at the time. “Milanesi and non-Milanesi can eat ice cream day and night anywhere they like.”
“There was perhaps a mistake in the interpretation of the rules,” the then-mayor added, “or perhaps an error in the way things were written.”
