City: Horse-drawn rides on Rome cobblestones will be history

ROME – A horse-drawn carriage ride on Rome’s cobblestone streets will soon be history.

Rome’s City Hall announced on Friday that the carriage rides will be allowed only in parks and on the grounds of historic villas.

Advocates for the animals safety have long pressed for the end of the romantic tourist attraction, arguing that the horses suffer from the noise, pollution and chronic chaos on the city’s traffic-clogged streets.

Transport Commissioner Linda Meleo says “the level of smog and traffic put at risk the safety of the animals.”

The city says no carriage driver will lose their jobs. No date for the start of the change was announced.