An Argentine tourist crashed a drone into a historic building in Rome and will face a fine of between 550 and 68,000 dollars

A new drone incident has occurred in Italy, this time involving an Argentine, who is being accused of circumventing the strict rules of Rome's no-fly zone after crashing a drone into a monument in the city center.

The 39-year-old Argentine was flying his drone in Piazza Venezia when he lost control of the device and smashed it against the roof of Palazzo Venezia, a 15th-century building from where fascist dictator Benito Mussolini delivered some of his most famous speeches

The drone was recovered by the building's security personnel before it was seized by the police, who reported the tourist for not complying with a drone no-fly zone over the city, according to Italian media reports.

People who want to film or take pictures of the Italian capital from above with a drone must obtain permission and be registered with Enac, the national civil aviation body. Piloting a drone in the center of Rome and the Vatican is completely forbidden due to all the precious monuments.

However, tourists seem to ignore the rules. Last week, two Mexican tourists crashed their drone into the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The brother and sister faced police action for violating the no-flight rules around the famous Tuscan city landmark.

In 2020, a 40-year-old Polish tourist crashed his drone inside the Colosseum despite being warned that it was forbidden to pilot the device inside the old amphitheater. In July last year, a 61-year-old man was charged with an “attack on transport security” after flying his drone over Rome at an altitude of 2,000 meters. The man, who was a member of a Facebook page for drone fans, was reported after a professional pilot saw his device.

Fortunately there have been no reports of damage to monuments due to the impact of crashing drones. Sanctions imposed have also not been reported, but fines for violating drone rules range from 516 to 64,000 euros (552 to 68,540 dollars).

The monument on which the Argentinian drone crashed is known for housing the “balcony of Mussolini” where the Italian dictator declared war on Britain and France on June 10, 1949. Today Palazzo Venezia keeps a museum inside.

The incident occurred on Saturday, on the eve of the 77th anniversary since the liberation of the country from German occupation and the fascist regime, which is celebrated this Monday.

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