Difference between criminal and civil tort

To move from a simple civil offense to a criminal one, one must not look at the extent of the noise but at the number of people disturbed. It is classified as civil when the noise only damages close neighbors (for example the neighbor upstairs or the one downstairs); instead, the crime is triggered when there is harassment that spreads in such a way as to be perceived by an indeterminate number of subjects.

In particular, the crime is triggered by the simple fact of having caused annoyance to all those who are near the source of disturbance, regardless of the fact that only some have complained or that only one has presented a report to the police. It is not even necessary to identify all the victims of noise: it is enough that the sounds are emitted in an inhabited center and that a large number of people perceive the sound waves - even potentially.