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US tourist, 43, is fined $500 for driving FERRARI into Piazza della Signoria in Florence

  • The tourist found himself $500 poorer after driving a Ferrari through a piazza
  • The man was fined 470 euros, or approximately $506, on the spot 
  • It turned out he did not have a license to drive anywhere in the country 

An American tourist living out an Italian fantasy found himself $500 poorer after driving a Ferrari in the wrong direction into a piazza in Florence, all without the proper license. 

The tourist, who has not been identified but is 43 years old, drove the red sports car into the Piazza della Signoria, where pedestrians are often walking in the historic city center. 

Local officials were clearly not impressed, as they described his driving down the Via dei Gondi street as ‘nonsensical.’   

The car had Swiss registration. It’s unclear if he was the owner of the car or how he got it in Italy

The man was fined 470 euros, or approximately $506, on the spot after a police check showed he didn’t have the right licensing to drive anywhere in Italy, much less the piazza. 

Florence authorities said in a statement that the man immediately paid off the fine. 

‘Checks revealed that the 43-year-old driver had an American driving license that did not comply with international conventions and did not have an international driving permit or official translation,’ they said.

‘A report was taken for parking in the pedestrian area, driving against the direction and having non-compliant foreign license, the fine was a total of 470 euros, which he paid directly to the agents.’

Piazza della Signoria, which opened in 1330, is considered the main meeting place of city residents and tourists and also the political center of the city. 

The specific square the American was driving in is usually a tourist hotspot and home to the famous Uffizi Gallery. 

It’s also home to several statues, including a copy of Michaelangelo’s David, a statue of Hercules and Cacus and a Peresus with the head of Medusa. 

The area is known as a zona a traffico limitato (ZTL), or a ‘restricted traffic zone’ in english. 

Only fire trucks, ambulances and local taxis are allowed to drive through the piazza, according to the city’s website.

Panoramic view of the palazzo Vecchio and Clock tower building from Signoria square

Panoramic view of the palazzo Vecchio and Clock tower building from Signoria square

Piazza della Signoria, which opened in 1330, is considered the main meeting place of city residents and tourists and also the political center of the city

Piazza della Signoria, which opened in 1330, is considered the main meeting place of city residents and tourists and also the political center of the city

The man isn’t even the first American to get caught driving in such an area in Florence this year. 

According to CNN, a man from California was fined about $540 for driving a rented Fiat across a bridge in Florence.

Last May, a Saudi man was arrested for driving a rented Maserati down the Spanish steps in Rome before fleeing the scene after the car was hit. 

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