Cooking up a stinky storm in Italy could get you in trouble with the law, according to the country's supreme court.
The ruling on "olfactory molestation" comes after a long running feud between neighbors in an apartment complex in the town of Monfalcone on the Adriatic coast, which is close to the Slovenian border.
Residents complained about a married couple cooking up vats of rich pasta sauces and fried seafood.
Judges in Rome said:
“The emission of odors and noises in the overhead apartment on the third floor were beyond the limits of tolerability."
One neighbor said this happened when the couple cooked:
"The whole of my apartment became impregnated with the smell of the pasta sauce and the fried fish. It felt like their kitchen was in my flat.”
Impregnated with the smell of sauce, that's no good!
Fights over cooking smells are common in apartment buildings. Some people are forced to move, suffer depression, and even have psychological trauma from the smelly odors.
What the hell are people cooking over there?!
Matteo Santini, a lawyer who specializes in fights between neighbors says:
"The courts have to strike the right balance (between people creating the smells and those complaining about them). There was a man who wanted to prosecute his neighbor because she cooked chicken soup at eight in the morning."
An influx of immigrants has contributed to the rise in smelly food complaints, with Italians objecting to the pungent aromas of "exotic" foods such as curry and stir fries with lots of garlic.
This is what happens when people live too close together, you get stuck with everyone's unwanted stenches.
We'll keep our space, thank you.