No ‘lingering’ for selfies: Italian town Portofino imposes fine of up to $400

With its colourful buildings overlooking the Italian Riviera coastline, Portofino makes a great picturesque backdrop for selfies.

But the coastal fishing village has recently rolled out a fine of between €68 (S$99) and €275 in “no waiting” areas to stop tourists from “lingering” in popular spots, according to news reports.

The measures were first implemented over the Easter weekend and applies every day from morning until 6pm, BBC reported, adding that the town is expecting big numbers of tourists over the summer months.

The rules will stay in place until Oct 15 when the peak tourist season ends, reported The Independent.

Under the rules, tourists are prohibited from stopping and lingering “in points of aggregation and meeting places for groups and cruise passengers waiting to be boarded on boats or other things,” according to Yahoo, citing the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The lingering has previously created “serious obstacles and potential danger,” it said.

Portofino Mayor Matteo Viacava told the newspaper that the rules “allow all tourists who reach Portofino to be able to make the most of the village, but also manage security in the square”.

Portofino, located in the south of Genoa in Italy, has a population of just over 500 people. But during peak season, thousands of tourists visit the village, according to The Independent.

The village is renowned for being a social media backdrop, with its hashtag #portofino amassing 1.2 million posts on Instagram.

It has celebrity appeal too. Famous stars such as singers Cher and Mariah Carey have visited the village.

Portofino is not the only location that has been clamping down on selfies.

In New York and California, people are banned by law from taking selfies in zoos and areas where there could be dangerous wild animals, such as tigers and bears, in the background,