Padua Mayor Massimo Bitonci said
Friday the city is assessing measures to enforce an existing ban
on covering one's face in public in the interests of security.
His remarks came after guards at the city's Eremitani Civic
Museum on Thursday stopped a woman wearing a niqab - or Islamic
veil covering the head and face all the way up to the eyes -
from entering.
They asked her for identification, and told her to remove
the veil before visiting the museum.
She decided to leave instead.
"We're assessing a directive extending this type of
controls to all museums and public offices, even though existing
laws against circulating in public with one's face covered are
still in force," Bitonci said.
He cited a May 1975 public security law banning people from
wearing head gear that makes recognition and identification
impossible - such as motorcycle helmets and balaclavas - in
public.
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