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Why You'll Never Have A Kebab In Venice, Italy

If you're feeling peckish while exploring a European city, there's a wide variety of options to satisfy. While a quick and casual bite can be found at familiar American fast food chains or a local street food specialty, an especially ubiquitous option is a kebab joint. These independently run businesses appear throughout the continent, offering a consistently convenient yet tasty meal. A fixture of neighborhoods, some operations even blend with local tastes, innovating new dishes like a kebab-topped pizza in Sweden.

Yet bolstered by their success, kebabs have also caused some controversy in Europe. Some feel guarded regarding the dish's foreign origins, a stance furthered by the fact many kebab shops are operated by immigrants. In 2009, an Italian town in Tuscany even took legal action, eliminating new licenses for foreign-operated restaurants in the city center. Soon, more locations in Italy followed suit; Verona, Tuscany, and in 2017, Venice.

The tourist hotspot didn't single out kebabs -- all other takeaway foods except for gelato were included in the legislation. In fact, local press even specifically mentioned the law didn't come out of distaste for kebabs, but rather an effort to uphold local cuisine. Long plagued by overtourism, Venetians felt a sentiment of under-appreciation for local culture. Venice and other Italian cities are some of the best food destinations around, so you'll still find a delicious meal -- but it won't be a Venetian kebab.

Venice Officials Banned Kebabs To Promote Local Ingredients And Business

Sure, eating a kebab in Venice was probably not a bucket list-worthy experience, but the ban's ramifications are critical to consider. While the legislation didn't outright shutter all operating kebab shops in the city, it did enforce new stringent regulations on the ones already operating. Some view such policy as both nationalist and discriminatory. Plus, like other cuisines, Italian food has incorporated many extraneous elements -- so the boundaries of what's deemed authentically Italian aren't clear.

Venetian lawmakers refute by stating the battle against kebabs isn't about the dish itself, but rather the employed ingredients. One catalyst for the ban is to increase the use of local produce in a way that's harmonious with the city's culture. Kebab shops often import their meats from manufacturing facilities; a method incongruous with Venice's aim for all Italian traditional dining. Simultaneously, the city government noted a lack of friction with takeaway style. In fact, there was even a push to open picnic areas; fostering one of the best ways to eat meals in Europe. More than that, city officials didn't want tourists consuming kebabs in crowded city streets.

Five years later, the policy was renewed, this time with the added angle of historical preservation. The approach extended to stores in addition to restaurants, with an effort to keep solely Italian businesses within heritage buildings. Subsequently, the strenuous situation for foreign business owners continues, and kebabs still aren't to be found.

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