AP/Reuters
- The Obama family is vacationing in Europe, and are currently visiting George and Amal Clooney in Lake Como, Italy.
- The locals have taken the visit very seriously: the mayor of nearby Laglio ordered a 300-foot exclusion zone around Clooney’s Villa Oleandra to ensure the Obamas’ privacy.
- Anyone who gets too close could be fined €500 ($570).
- Before arriving by private plane in Milan, Italy, on Saturday, the four Obamas vacationed in the town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, in the French Riviera.
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Obama family is are currently vacationing with George and Amal Clooney in Lake Como, Italy — where the local government is enforcing a 300-foot perimeter to protect the famous residents’ privacy.
The five Obamas arrived at Clooney’s Lake Como villa on Saturday and are staying until Monday. The visit is part of a summer trip to Europe which has also taken them to the town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, in Provence, France.
The Obamas’ visit to Italy prompted a media frenzy, with photographers camped outside the villa. Extra police from the interior ministry have also been deployed patrol the surrounding streets.
The mayor of the hamlet of Laglio, Roberto Pozzi, introduced a €500 ($570) fine for any person, or boat, that gets within 300 feet of Clooney’s lakeside Villa Oleandra.
The rule was posted on notices around Laglio.
La Repubblica
Pozzi told the Italian press on Tuesday that security has also been provided by the central Italian government.
Read more: The incredible life of international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney
"The interior ministry is in charge of the operation and naturally details are not going to be divulged," he told Il Giornale.
Reuters
Pozzi also told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "For our little village, it is a wonderful occasion to become better known.
"I imagine how many people in America will now go and look at a map to find out where Laglio is."
Clooney and his wife Amal, a renowned human rights lawyer, are hosting the former US president and first lady Michelle with their two children Sasha, 18, and Malia, 20.
The Obamas landed in Milan on a private plane on Saturday, and were driven — with the support of six Italian police cars, a helicopter, and their own motorway lane — to Laglio.
Reuters
Part of the Obama’s visit to the Clooneys included attending a dinner put on by the Clooney Foundation for Justice on Saturday, which raises funds to combat poverty.
Clooney bought the Lake Como villa in 2002, and was made an honorary citizen of the nearby town of Como.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Bill Bostock)