Rome's city council has launched another campaign to free the city's streets and parks of dog excrement and litter. The recently created office for urban decorum is working with the city's environmental agency, AMA, to show Romans that fines for irresponsible behaviour by dog owners are not just empty threats. There are four infractions for which dog owners can be fined: not cleaning up after one's dog (100);

not carrying a plastic bag and a scoop to pick up the dog's excrement (100); taking a dog to children's play areas in public parks (129); letting a dog loose without a lead or muzzle (129).

Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni has promised a series of crackdowns in coming weeks to enforce these widely disregarded rules.

The office for urban decorum was created by the current city administration to deal with emergency situations (tel. 065813280 Mon-Fri 10.00-12.00, 14.00-16.00 to report vandalism, illegal billboards etc), but as a long-term goal it hopes to educate Romans about their civic responsibilities.

This summer also saw the introduction in Rome of perfumed rubbish skips. AMA officials have sprayed 5,000 skips with an enzyme solution that reduces unpleasant odors and bacteria growth, and leaves bins with a vanilla aroma.