Palermo to phase out horse-drawn carriages

City council approves plan to gradually replace horse-drawn botticelle with electric vehicles in the Sicilian capital. Palermo's city council has approved a measure setting in motion the gradual phasing out of horse-drawn carriages used for tourist rides, paving the way for their replacement with electric vehicles. The council backed an amendment to an article governing the tourist carriage service as well as approving new, clearer rules for the protection of animals, citizen reporting mechanisms and the powers of law enforcement to intervene. Under the plan, the city administration now has 180 days to draw up a detailed conversion scheme, with a further one-year transitional period to allow current licence-holders to adapt to the new requirements. Any electric vehicles introduced to replace the horse-drawn carriages will need to be duly type-approved and registered, though they may retain a design echoing the traditional carriages. According to local reporting, Palermo currently has 36 licensed horse-drawn carriages, known locally as botticelle. Why the change The decision marks an important step in a debate that has run for years in the Sicilian capital, amid years of controversy over the use of horses in the city's summer heat. Palermo already enforces a seasonal ban on carriage rides during the hottest hours of the day, with total suspensions on days of extreme heat warnings; such a full-day suspension was in place as recently as mid-July 2026. Fabrizio Ferrandelli, the city's animal welfare councillor, described the approval of the two measures as a historic day for Palermo and "a shift in civility", allowing the city to move beyond an activity based on the use of horses while supporting operators towards a more sustainable model. The Italian animal rights organisation OIPA welcomed the vote as a "historic turning point for animal rights", while also stressing the aim of balancing animal welfare with safeguarding the jobs of current licence-holders. Following Rome's lead Palermo's approach mirrors similar efforts under way in Rome, where the city council has for months been negotiating with the roughly 16 remaining carriage drivers, or vetturini, to convert their licences into taxi licences instead. In the capital, most drivers are reportedly willing to make the switch, though the process has been complicated by at least one operator refusing to give up his carriage licence. In the past Rome has proposed replace the botticelle with electric vehicles however the plan has never got off the ground. As in Palermo, the conversion of licences to another form of public transport, rather than an outright ban, has emerged as the preferred route for reconciling animal welfare concerns with the livelihoods of those currently working in the trade.

WIRE — City council approves plan to gradually replace horse-drawn botticelle with electric vehicles in the Sicilian capital. Palermo's city council has approved a measure setting in motion the gradual phasing out of horse-drawn carriages used for tourist rides, paving the way for their replacement with electric vehicles. The council backed an amendment to an article governing the tourist carriage service as well as approving new, clearer rules for the protection of animals, citizen reporting mechanisms and the powers of law enforcement to intervene. Under the plan, the city administration now has 180 days to draw up a detailed conversion scheme, with a further one-year transitional period to allow current licence-holders to adapt to the new requirements. Any electric vehicles introduced to replace the horse-drawn carriages will need to be duly type-approved and registered, though they may retain a design echoing the traditional carriages. According to local reporting, Palermo currently has 36 licensed horse-drawn carriages, known locally as botticelle. Why the change The decision marks an important step in a debate that has run for years in the Sicilian capital, amid years of controversy over the use of horses in the city's summer heat. Palermo already enforces a seasonal ban on carriage rides during the hottest hours of the day, with total suspensions on days of extreme heat warnings; such a full-day suspension was in place as recently as mid-July 2026. Fabrizio Ferrandelli, the city's animal welfare councillor, described the approval of the two measures as a historic day for Palermo and "a shift in civility", allowing the city to move beyond an activity based on the use of horses while supporting operators towards a more sustainable model. The Italian animal rights organisation OIPA welcomed the vote as a "historic turning point for animal rights", while also stressing the aim of balancing animal welfare with safeguarding the jobs of current licence-holders. Following Rome's lead Palermo's approach mirrors similar efforts under way in Rome, where the city council has for months been negotiating with the roughly 16 remaining carriage drivers, or vetturini, to convert their licences into taxi licences instead. In the capital, most drivers are reportedly willing to make the switch, though the process has been complicated by at least one operator refusing to give up his carriage licence. In the past Rome has proposed replace the botticelle with electric vehicles however the plan has never got off the ground. As in Palermo, the conversion of licences to another form of public transport, rather than an outright ban, has emerged as the preferred route for reconciling animal welfare concerns with the livelihoods of those currently working in the trade.

"We aggregate wires to encourage regional discovery, sending readers directly back to the original source to explore full coverage."

This is a normalized overview of the breaking feed event. The complete, official release detailing all points, background context, and statements remains hosted by the original publisher.