Spain's border checks on Italy threaten Tuscan summer tourism

Spain announced Friday that it would introduce temporary border checks on travellers arriving from Italy, in retaliation for Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, according to the Guardian, BBC, France 24 and Deutsche Welle. The rare spat between the two EU nations comes after tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to Ceuta in what France 24 described as an unprecedented, deadly rush, with the Guardian reporting a death toll of at least 100 people.

The Spanish government has given Rome until Sunday to restore passport-free travel under the Schengen agreement, Politico Europe reported. Italy's government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has said it will continue its temporary suspension of Schengen until at least August 15, with a senior official declaring that Rome 'won't take orders from Spain', according to Politico.

For Tuscany, the timing could hardly be worse. August is the peak of the region's tourist season, when Florence's historic centre and the hill towns of Chianti fill with visitors from across Europe and beyond. The introduction of border checks at Spanish entry points — airports, ports and land crossings — adds friction to a journey that millions of travellers make each summer, many of them passing through Tuscany on itineraries that continue to Spain.