Italy’s Capri lifts tourist ban as water shortage resolved

Capri, an island in Italy’s Bay of Naples, draws vast numbers of day-trippers in summer months – Copyright AFP JACK GUEZ

The Italian island of Capri lifted a ban on tourists Saturday after problems with the water supply to the holiday hotspot were resolved.

Capri’s mayor, Paolo Falco, said the ban was “revoked” after a technical issue preventing the arrival of water from the mainland was fixed.

The ban was announced early Saturday, forcing several morning ferries on their way to the island from Naples and Sorrento in southern Italy to return to port.

In justifying the ban, Falco warned of “a real emergency” and said that while there was still water on most of the island on Friday, local tanks early Saturday were “running out”.

“The emergency would be worsened by the arrival of the thousands of tourists who arrive on Capri daily,” he said.

Locals, not targeted by the ban, were permitted to collect up to 25 litres (6.6 gallons) of drinking water per household from a supply tanker.

Capri, in the Bay of Naples, is famed for its white villas, cove-studded coastline and upscale hotels. It has around 13,000 permanent residents but attracts huge numbers of day-trippers in summer months.