Battling to keep the ‘real’ Venice afloat
I couldn’t help noticing the many parallels between Venice and New Orleans. Though, our situation doesn’t seem as dire yet.
But Venice also faces the problem of a dwindling population and an increasing influx of tourists that locals claim it is incapable of keeping up with.
Wouldn’t say New Orleans has ever been incapable of keeping up with its tourists but it does compromise it’s culture to them. Bourbon Street being the largest surrender. It used to be Jazz, Cocktails and Burlesque and now its karaoke, huge fucking beers and titty bars. The t-shirt shops continue to fight for more space and employ all sorts of tactics to do so. The next battleground might be Frenchmen Street. Thankfully, the neighborhoods have managed to stay out of this fight mostly.
But Secchi, a hotel owner, doesn’t blame the tourists; he is aware that the city needs them in order to survive. He and his supporters are lobbying Venice’s Mayor, Giorgio Orsoni, to diversify the city’s industry away from tourism so fewer residents will leave to take jobs on the mainland.
Other than tourism, Venice’s other industry is maritime interests, shipbuilding, a Navy base so on. There are also some textiles. New Orleans will always have a unique port (if it ever doesn’t that’s another, huge, issue) it also has universities, medicine and, let’s not forget our rich uncle, oil and gas (until, well, you know).
Secchi says Venice is “under attack by big business” and points to the advertising billboards that cover historic buildings being renovated, the cruise ships that sail into the city and houses bought up by corporations and left unoccupied.
Unoccupied houses by big business has always terrified me. While I am sure that exists in one way or the other in the French Quarter and surrounding areas it probably takes a different form in temporary owners who are only around part of the year. None of us hate America but what does it do to a neighborhood when a large portion of the homes are only occupied a few months out of the year if that?
It is this increasingly commercial aspect to the city, seen as necessary for boosting its finances, which prompted Venessia.com to stage their “Welcome to Veniceland” protest in 2010, in which members of the group paraded around Venice dressed as cartoon characters, lamenting what they see as the “Disney-fication” of their home.
They have an awe…amazing site! Welcome to Veniceland Also, see this map.
Environmental scientist and Venice resident Jane da Mosto says that the city’s problem with tourism could be better managed. She believes a basic tourist levy could help the city raise necessary funds to maintain its historic buildings. It’s money that has been hard to find in recent years, she says.
Okay, why?
Much of the money from Italy’s central government to the city has gone into funding the controversial billion-dollar MOSE flood defense project.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.
“It’s a bet, of course, but I believe in it, in the sense that it has to achieve its goals,” said Paolo Canestrelli, Director of the Center of Tide Forecasting and Signage at the Municipality of Venice. “One doesn’t even discuss (the possibility of it not working), because having spent so many resources, and so much energy on a project that may not work — it doesn’t bear thinking about.”
It sounds like they are trying to WILL the water out.
She says that she sees Venice’s problems as a microcosm for those affecting many other cities across the world, and that “if you can fix it in Venice, it can be fixed everywhere else too.”
We are pulling for you.
fucking twilight zone.
they should be our sister city.
good luck yall.