TRIESTE – A flash mob has been organized in solidarity with an Austrian tourist who was fined 300 euros for sleeping in a hammock hung in the pine forest along Trieste’s Barcola Riviera.

 Local police spotted the tourist sleeping in the hammock, which had been hung between two trees near I Topolini – 10 semicircular terraces overlooking the sea - at around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

 According to witnesses, the Austrian, 52, who produced his ID at the request of police, was punished with a fine of 300 euros for violation of the Public Green Regulation, which forbids the hanging of any kind of structure on trees and shrubs.

 The incident sparked an immediate outcry, and has gone viral on social media, giving birth to the flash mob idea, which was to take place on Saturday in the same area the tourist was fined.

 Entitled “Free hammocks,” the city of Trieste is rallying to protest the heavy fine, which some believe is “too restrictive.” 

 On Twitter, posts appear with the hashtag #amachelibere (free hammocks), while on Facebook a profile with the same name has been opened.

 cc