The prohibition of luggage on wheels in the fully pedestrianised city, widely reported by Italian media over the past 24 hours, was allegedly due to their noisiness and damaging effects on the city's ancient pavement stones.
Italian media has reported tourists would be liable for fines of up to $A750 (500 euros) if they fail to use noise-free wheels, which are either made of rubber or air-filled.
The alleged ban had been met with disbelief by residents and tourists, and was derided on Twitter through the "trolleyisnotacrime" hashtag.
"I want to most firmly deny that the Municipality of Venice had ever thought of banning (wheeled suitcases) in the historic centre," Prefect Vittorio Zappalorto said in a statement on Friday.
He said the local authority was only considering introducing the compulsory use of air-filled wheels for commercial carts, such as those used for deliveries to shops and street markets, and insisted that no final decision had been taken on the issue.
Noting that wheeled suitcases did represent a problem, Zappalorto said he hoped that the "false scoop" on their prohibition could encourage luggage manufacturers to develop new products that could be less harmful to Venice's pavements.
