Italian Tourism official not too happy with iPhone travel app
iPhone travel app
describes Italy as "Pizza, Mafia, Pasta and Scooters." That isn't sitting too well with Italian Tourism Minister Michela Vittoria Brambilla, who says that the app's description of her country is offensive. She is threatening legal action against the developers, Apalon of Belarus.
The US$0.99 app is rated pretty highly by users on the App Store, and it's described as having "a light-hearted and funny view of the world."
The Minister, for her part, says that "Italy is a beacon in the world for its history, culture and style, and as a citizen and minister, I cannot allow that our country is discredited by the use of a criminal organization as its testimonial." But Italy isn't the only country with a less-than-complimentary description. The app describes Germany as "Beer, discipline and autobahns."
I can't see a lawsuit in a case like this getting too far, but the publicity probably won't hurt the app any, either.
