The local council has put the ruling in place to placate locals complaining of the clanking noise produced by suitcases with tough plastic wheels as they are pulled along Venice's old cobbled streets.
Luggage with softer rubber or inflatable wheels will be allowed, as these are deemed to make less noise.
The city's building director, Maurizio Dorigo, said: "Venice was once the city of silence, thanks to the absence of cars. Now the rumble of suitcases has become its soundtrack. You can hear one tourist at a hundred metres in an alley at night."
The city will enforce the ruling by imposing a fine of up to €500 on anyone caught wheeling a suitcase around. It will come into effect from May next year.
There are no roads for cars in Venice so visitors must get around either on foot or by canal, meaning visitors must carry luggage relatively long distances to reach their hotels.
Val Wheedon of the UK Noise Association says this is a good step, as not many cities take noise pollution seriously:
"We understand that in a busy city it's partly expected it's not going to be quiet, but we have always advocated that wherever possible, efforts should be made to reduce the impact of noise on people".
More than 20 million people visit Venice annually. There have been past suggestions of capping the number of visitors due to the negative effect large numbers of tourists have on Venice's world famous monuments, as well as the noise disruption caused to the city's 300,000 inhabitants.
Acoustic atmosphere
Venice is of course not the only city which has noise issues. London, a city of 7 million residents, saw a record 17 million visitors last year. In proportion to the population this is of course only around five per cent of what Venice receives. Yet the number is still huge and the visitors' contribution to noise levels in the British capital is appreciable. Though bags on wheels would probably not be anywhere near the top of Londoners' complaints about noise.
Lisa Lavia is Managing Director of the Noise Abatement Society in the UK. She says an understanding of noise pollution is important for community wellbeing.
"World Health Organisation research shows that sleep disturbance due to excessive noise can significantly shorten one's life, and has made a large contribution to shortening the lives of European citizens", she said.
She said city planning must pay attention to the character of the acoustic atmosphere of squares, pedestrian zones, and of whole cities.
Common noise problems, labelled environmental or community noise, usually comes in the form of sound emanating from traffic, aircraft or industrial sources such as factories.
The Greater London Authority has set out a plan for reducing noise disturbance through better road planning.
Heathrow Airport also has a website dedicated to aircraft noise complaints, saying it is aiming to reduce its noise footprint — the impact of noisy aircraft on nearby residents.
But, for both Venice and London, being among the most attractive destinations in the world will surely carry a price.
