Italy’s Love Park Closed

There were no good vibes at Italy’s latest parking lot of love on Valentine’s day. Police shut the park down before the Fiats could pull into the 73 spots available.

Called the “Lovely Park” in grammatically-challenged English, the structure in southern city of Bari would have been open for action 24 hours a day, charging the amorous €3 ($3.80 circa) an hour for privacy and safety.

The idea’s a good one because 90 percent of Italians between the ages of 20 and 24 still live at home, which necessarily makes for a lot of back seat activity.

Entrepreneur Giuseppe Foggetti told papers he was “very disappointed” and does not know why authorities shut the park down on opening day.

This institutionalized lover’s lane had approval from local authorities — with the head of traffic telling papers that if the love park had been around in his time he “certainly would’ve used it” and mayor Michele Emiliano citing it as the latest example of the ingenuity of local inhabitants.

Legendarily gnarled Italian bureaucracy may have something to do with it.
Foggetti’s love park, which looks pretty much like most parking lots — although this park and ride scheme boasts high-walled stalls — was shut by the branch of the police in charge of building codes. No word on when — or if — it may open for business.

Foggetti isn’t the first to build this new kind of recreational lot: back in 2004, city government in Vinci (aka Leonardo’s birthplace in Tuscany) built a well-lit place for outdoor amore.

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  1. Pingback: zoomata :|: a close-up on italy » Blog Archive » Outdoor Amore? Italians Say “Si”

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