Anyone caught picking up a prostitute in Romes densely populated VII municipality will be fined 500, according to a new proposal put forward by the areas president, Stefano Tozzi. He hopes this measure will stop, or at least reduce, the number of prostitutes and transvestites offering their services on the streets in this part of the city, which includes the busy Via Prenestina and Viale Palmiro Togliatti.

Romes prefect, Achille Serra, has contested the ruling on the grounds that prostitution in Italy is not illegal. However a court of appeal in Verona, in the north of Italy, has recently confirmed a fine for a similar offence.