Mayor Matteo Viacava has recently set up a couple of “red zones” that will prevent tourists as well as organised groups from thronging in the village “piazzetta” to take the perfect selfie.

Portofino – a fishing village of less than 400 inhabitants – has become a holiday hotspot for the international jet set over the past few decades. Regular visitors include A-list celebrities such as former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi as well as the Kardashians and Beyonce.

The rule – in place every day from morning to 6pm until 15 October – was set up to end “the anarchic chaos” caused by tourists in recent weeks.

“The objective is not to make the place more exclusive but to allow everyone to enjoy our beauty,” Viacava told Italian newspapers early this week. “Portofino isn’t anyone’s property, it belongs to everyone. Everyone must respect it.”

The decision comes as the mayors of nearby holiday hotspots of Cinque Terre have considered capping the number of tourists allowed to preserve the Unesco World Heritage sites. 

Hoteliers’ association Federalberghi told The Times that the 12% year-on-year increase in tourism reported over the past few weeks was mainly due to Italians re-discovering their country. 

“Italians rediscovered Italy during the pandemic when they couldn’t travel,” he said on Tuesday (11 April). “Now that they can leave the country, they increasingly choose to stay. Of all the Italians leaving home this Easter, 95% remained in Italy, up from 80% before Covid.”