Austrians affected

Gang violence in Jesolo: “Get rid of the scum”

Cellphone cameras are usually rolling; the videos end up online to further humiliate the victims.(Bild: Krone-Collage/Screenshot/TikTok, stock.adobe.com null)

Jesolo, an Adriatic resort popular with Austrians, is currently being plagued by brutal brawls among youth gangs with immigrant backgrounds. Italians call these teenagers, who gather via social media, “Maranza”; in Austria, they are known as “Talahons.” Now the city and police are taking action.

They are between 13 and 17 years old—just old enough that the law cannot prosecute them under adult criminal law. They emulate gangs from the Brazilian favelas, posing with knives and guns, terrorizing the city centers of Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Lake Garda, and all the way to South Tyrol. And now Jesolo, too.