As Manhattan votes to end 160 years of carriage rides in Central Park, Rome’s botticelle are already pushed out of the center and down to 16, but no ban is in placeOn Thursday, the New York City Council voted to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park from June 2028, ending a tradition that has lasted more than 160 years, according to BBC News. The measure is backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has promised to help develop a transition plan for the industry’s workers.The vote followed a series of incidents. In June, an 18-year-old tourist from India, Romanch Mahajan, died after a carriage horse bolted and he fell out, and the planned law is named Romanch’s Law in his memory. A carriage horse, Deniz, also died earlier this year after eating a toxic plant in the park. The Manhattan Borough President’s office says 40 horses working in Central Park have died since 1982, and the Central Park Conservancy counts seven “horse-related incidents” in the past 13 months. Not everyone welcomes it. About 200 drivers work in the park, earning roughly $60,000 to $70,000 a year according to what some of them told a council hearing, and several told the BBC they disputed claims of mistreatment and did not want new jobs. The Transport Workers Union says the law contains no guarantee of compensation. The bill forbids selling horses for slaughter, and owners may keep them if they choose. So Why Not Rome? The question is a fair one for a city whose horse-drawn “botticelle” are as familiar to tourists as New York’s carriages. The honest answer is that Rome has been heading in the same direction for years, but by a slower and less final route. Out of the center. Rome’s city assembly decided in 2018 that the botticelle would no longer run through the streets of the historic center and would be moved to the paths of some city parks. The city also stopped issuing new licenses and offered the then 32 license-holders a free conversion to taxi licenses. The idea at the time was a gradual disappearance of the activity, pending a national law to abolish it. Heat rules. In 2023, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri issued an order restricting horse work in hot weather. One driver told the news site Open this summer that they stop whenever the temperature reaches 34.9 degrees and do not work if it is still above 35 after 6 p.m. Down to 16. Only 16 horse-drawn carriages remain in the capital, according to Open. A Collapse on Ponte Cavour This summer the debate was reignited after a horse collapsed at Ponte Cavour in the heat, in front of tourists, which, according to the news site Affaritaliani, changed the political climate in the Campidoglio. In June, reports said that 15 of the 16 remaining drivers were prepared to swap their carriage licenses for taxi licenses, with only one wanting to keep working with horses. Open, however, spoke to drivers who rejected that picture and said they were not interested, so the extent of the agreement is disputed. The Campidoglio also denied reports that each driver would be offered two taxi licenses. The city is also reported to be considering a route that avoids a flat ban, by making horse-drawn vehicles meet the standards required of any vehicle on Rome’s streets, a requirement that could make the business economically unsustainable. The Missing Piece: A National Law The main obstacle is that animal traction is still allowed by Italy’s highway code. In late July, Patrizia Prestipino, a Democratic Party MP and Rome’s animal rights commissioner, presented a bill in the Chamber of Deputies that would ban animals from pulling vehicles for tourism, recreation or public hire, by repealing Article 70 of the highway code. According to Affaritaliani, the text provides fines of between €1,000 and €5,000 and the confiscation of both carriage and horse. Prestipino said municipal orders limiting hours and activity are not enough and that a national law is needed. I could not find any report of the bill’s progress since then, or of a signed deal with the drivers, so as of today Rome has no final ban and the botticelle remain licensed. Wanted in Rome’s Petition Wanted in Rome has its own petition on the question. Launched on Change.org in July 2025, it asks the City of Rome and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city, arguing that making horses work under the scorching Roman sun is cruel and outdated and that tourism can thrive without animal suffering. It points out that Rome welcomes some 9 to 10 million tourists a year, and that other cities have already banned the practice. At the time of writing it has more than 4,200 verified signatures. New York’s vote shows that a ban is achievable in a city that depends on tourism, and Rome is closer than many realize. The petition is a way for residents and visitors to tell the Campidoglio that they want it finished. You can sign it here: https://www.change.org/p/vietiamo-le-carrozze-trainate-da-cavalli-ban-horse-drawn-carriages-in-the-city-of-rome Two Cities, Two Approaches New York is choosing a fixed date and a clear legal ban, with an uncertain compensation plan. Rome is choosing negotiation and incentives, with a national law that has yet to be debated. The trade-offs are the same in both cities: animal welfare and public safety on one side, and the livelihoods and traditions of a small group of workers on the other. In Rome the group is much smaller, with 16 licenses against New York’s roughly 200 drivers, which may make a conversion deal more achievable. Ph: Stefano Chiacchiarini '74 / Shutterstock.com

On Thursday, the New York City Council voted to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park from June 2028, ending a tradition that has lasted more than 160 years, according to BBC News. The measure is backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has promised to help develop a transition plan for the industry’s workers. The vote followed a series of incidents. In June, an 18-year-old tourist from India, Romanch Mahajan, died after a carriage horse bolted and he fell out, and the planned law is named Romanch’s Law in his memory. A carriage horse, Deniz, also died earlier this year after eating a toxic plant in the park. The Manhattan Borough President’s office says 40 horses working in Central Park have died since 1982, and the Central Park Conservancy counts seven “horse-related incidents” in the past 13 months. Not everyone welcomes it. About 200 drivers work in the park, earning roughly $60,000 to $70,000 a year according to what some of them told a council hearing, and several told the BBC they disputed claims of mistreatment and did not want new jobs. The Transport Workers Union says the law contains no guarantee of compensation. The bill forbids selling horses for slaughter, and owners may keep them if they choose. The question is a fair one for a city whose horse-drawn “botticelle” are as familiar to tourists as New York’s carriages. The honest answer is that Rome has been heading in the same direction for years, but by a slower and less final route. Out of the center. Rome’s city assembly decided in 2018 that the botticelle would no longer run through the streets of the historic center and would be moved to the paths of some city parks. The city also stopped issuing new licenses and offered the then 32 license-holders a free conversion to taxi licenses. The idea at the time was a gradual disappearance of the activity, pending a national law to abolish it. Heat rules. In 2023, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri issued an order restricting horse work in hot weather. One driver told the news site Open this summer that they stop whenever the temperature reaches 34.9 degrees and do not work if it is still above 35 after 6 p.m. Down to 16. Only 16 horse-drawn carriages remain in the capital, according to Open. This summer the debate was reignited after a horse collapsed at Ponte Cavour in the heat, in front of tourists, which, according to the news site Affaritaliani, changed the political climate in the Campidoglio. In June, reports said that 15 of the 16 remaining drivers were prepared to swap their carriage licenses for taxi licenses, with only one wanting to keep working with horses. Open, however, spoke to drivers who rejected that picture and said they were not interested, so the extent of the agreement is disputed. The Campidoglio also denied reports that each driver would be offered two taxi licenses. The city is also reported to be considering a route that avoids a flat ban, by making horse-drawn vehicles meet the standards required of any vehicle on Rome’s streets, a requirement that could make the business economically unsustainable. The main obstacle is that animal traction is still allowed by Italy’s highway code. In late July, Patrizia Prestipino, a Democratic Party MP and Rome’s animal rights commissioner, presented a bill in the Chamber of Deputies that would ban animals from pulling vehicles for tourism, recreation or public hire, by repealing Article 70 of the highway code. According to Affaritaliani, the text provides fines of between €1,000 and €5,000 and the confiscation of both carriage and horse. Prestipino said municipal orders limiting hours and activity are not enough and that a national law is needed. I could not find any report of the bill’s progress since then, or of a signed deal with the drivers, so as of today Rome has no final ban and the botticelle remain licensed. Wanted in Rome has its own petition on the question. Launched on Change.org in July 2025, it asks the City of Rome and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city, arguing that making horses work under the scorching Roman sun is cruel and outdated and that tourism can thrive without animal suffering. It points out that Rome welcomes some 9 to 10 million tourists a year, and that other cities have already banned the practice. At the time of writing it has more than 4,200 verified signatures. New York’s vote shows that a ban is achievable in a city that depends on tourism, and Rome is closer than many realize. The petition is a way for residents and visitors to tell the Campidoglio that they want it finished. You can sign it here: New York is choosing a fixed date and a clear legal ban, with an uncertain compensation plan. Rome is choosing negotiation and incentives, with a national law that has yet to be debated. The trade-offs are the same in both cities: animal welfare and public safety on one side, and the livelihoods and traditions of a small group of workers on the other. In Rome the group is much smaller, with 16 licenses against New York’s roughly 200 drivers, which may make a conversion deal more achievable. Ph: Stefano Chiacchiarini '74 / Shutterstock.com