Can you "copyright" a whole town's scenery?

Apparently, a town in the Tuscan region of Italy is tired of their scenery being exploited.
Tuscan town tries to copyright its landscapes | Pixiq

A travel photographer should probably learn how say "I'm just a tourist" in multiple languages, especially if he or she carries a tripod.

Ya, I read that this morning too. Not a big deal really in my opinion, on some levels. If they're seeking to trademark local landmarks, I think they're perfectly within their rights to demand compensation if those image are used commercially. They would probably require some sort of permit.

But if they're trying to trademark the countryside, haha, good luck!

Bit like when they used an image of Europe on the euro paper money no one checked to see who owned the image, cost them a fortune to pay off the owner of the image

I think Anthony has it right. They probably can trademark local land marks from commercial use. But I would think only the owners of the land marks could do it. I don't think they will be able to trademark "scenery" in general.

It has happened here in the U.S. many years ago (1990). The owner of the Pebble Beach golf club/resort (at the time it was a Japanese businessman that had just purchased the property) forbid pictures to be taken of the lone cypress tree along the 17-mile drive saying that it had been trademarked. The attorney for the owner went so-far as to say that even images taken prior to 1990 could not be used for commercial purposes.

Interesting - it somehow makes sense to me.

Now what if Google were to roll through with their street view cam? haha

Years ago I predicted that someday the Government would find a way to put a tax on scenery -- and then they came out with Scenic Byways --> Learn About Byways
They designated a road over the Unitah Mountains in S.W. Wyoming where we lived and the way it was explained to the public, was that you can drive on it all day long, but the minute you stopped to take a picture or enjoy the scenery you needed a $3.00 Parks Pass or be subject to a fine of $100.00.

Maybe Tuscan just needs to erect huge ugly barriers to prevent people from seeing the view unless they pay to access the other side of the barrier.

Maybe I should edit that last comment so as not to give them the idea.