On Wednesday afternoon Italy’s Chamber of Deputies saw the introduction of a bill which, if passed, would ban "botticelle", the traditional horse-drawn tourist carriages, especially common in Rome.
One of Rome's oldest trades risks disappearing for good.
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On Wednesday afternoon, a bill was presented in the Chamber of Deputies which, if passed, would ban the "botticelle", horse-drawn carriages that are particularly widespread in major tourist cities, above all Rome.
The bill, promoted by PD, Avs and M5S, calls for the repeal of article 70 of the Highway Code, which regulates "public hire services using animal-drawn vehicles", authorising their circulation.
The aim is an explicit ban on the use of animals to pull vehicles for public hire services, non-scheduled public transport as well as for tourist, recreational and ceremonial purposes.
"Individual municipal ordinances that restrict the hours and activities of the botticelle are not enough. We need to move towards a national law that abolishes botticelle and animal-drawn carriages in cities," said PD MP Patrizia Prestipino, animal welfare guarantor for Roma Capitale, during a press conference with Avs MPs Francesco Emilio Borrelli and Sergio Costa of the M5S.
The MP stresses that for years environmental associations, including Amore A Quattro Zampe, which is also promoting the initiative, have been pointing out that today's streets are not suited to animal welfare. In addition, the extreme temperatures of these days make it impossible for horses to work, given the scorching asphalt.
Throughout the month of August, in the main tourist areas of the Capital, the awareness campaign A piedi è più bello will be displayed. It is promoted by Rocco Ferraro, councillor of Roma Capitale and delegated councillor of the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital for the Environment, Ecological Transition, Protected Areas and Animal Protection, and has been produced in Italian and English.
Ferraro has also expressed his support for the bill, expressing the hope that "Parliament will seize this historic opportunity and approve a measure that will definitively end the use of horses for tourist transport in our cities. In 2026, continuing to have horses pulling carriages in the heart of the capital is a practice that belongs to the past, not the future".
