Have you ever been to Venice and can you confirm this ?

Apparently it is illegal to sit down in public unless you are in someone's shop buying something. Like coffee in a cafe.
It's even more illegal to sit down and eat your own food in public.

According to a news story I read 2 German tourists who recently were brewing their own coffee outside in public were given a $1000 fine and asked to leave the city.

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JoeyFoxx · 51-55, M

It depends on where you sit.

Venice has many narrow thoroughfares and sitting anywhere other than a campo (square) is problematic.

Venice isn’t typically friendly to tourists who aren’t actually tourists.

Traditionally, even back packers have known that visiting a city meant being respectful, keeping your things tied up and having a coffee at a cafe.

Venice becomes impossibly crowded during the height of tourist season and when urban hikers come in without plans to spend money and participate in the economy, they ruin it for everyone.

Wraithorn · 51-55, M

@JoeyFoxx Thanks for that. So possibly those German tourists were causing an obstruction and being inconsiderate.

JoeyFoxx · 51-55, M

@Wraithorn From the pictures I saw of them, they were sitting in an area at the base of the Rialto Bridge that isn't a busy sidewalk, but it's a place I've walked before to avoid crowds. I'd certainly avoid it if I saw someone having created a small campground.

They had laid all of their stuff out to brew a pot of coffee.

It was likely less about this couple and more about trying to prevent a pattern of behavior. People love to copy ideas for how to enjoy cities on the cheap. Imagine if 5 couples tried to enjoy the same spot in the same way at the same time. It would then become truly problematic.