STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Venice in Italy is renowned for canals, bridges, monuments, gondolas and apparently seagulls. The birds can snatch a meal right out of your hands. Years ago, Venetian authorities sprayed St. Mark's Square with gull repellent, which apparently was not enough. So hotels are now arming tourists with water guns. In a city absolutely at sea level, in the middle of a lagoon, you have the right to bear that kind of arms. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.