Capri was over… for a little while. The Italian island banned tourists from disembarking for a few hours this Saturday due to a lack of water, following supply problems from the continent. The mayor, Paolo Falco, issued the ban at 7 a.m., forcing several ferries already en route to the island, off the coast of Naples, to turn around. At the end of the day, the elected official finally indicated that this ban was lifted.
The island’s water supply company said there had been a technical problem on the mainland on Thursday, and while it had since been resolved, Capri’s supply problems persisted. This is no longer the case this Saturday evening.
25 liters of drinking water per household
In declaring the ban, Paolo Falco warned of “a real emergency situation” and declared that while there was still some water on the island on Friday, the reservoirs were “in the process of exhaust.” “The emergency would be aggravated by the arrival of thousands of tourists who arrive every day in Capri,” he said. Residents could obtain 25 liters of drinking water per household from a tanker truck, he said.
Capri, famous for its white villas, its coastline lined with coves and its high-end hotels, has some 13,000 inhabitants year-round and attracts a large number of tourists in summer who arrive for the day.
