Population decline set to turn Venice into Italy's Disneyland
 

Hi

Did you guys read this article in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...858757,00.html

After I went there I wrote in my trip report (see http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm ) "Yes, it is beautiful and unique and it was nice to have seen it with my own eyes. But in many ways I feel that it is a bit "artificial". Yes, it is a city where streets are replaced by canals and it is unique in that way. And it is amazing to think of the long history that Venice has. But how much of the "real" Venice is left when there are 70.000 left in the city and there are 14 million visitors every year? It seems like everything revolves around the tourist business."

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Venice is beautiful and unique and, unless they decided to tear it down and build something else, it will remain beautiful and unique.

Keep in mind that Venice proper never had that big a native population to begin with--150,000 or so was about the maxium in its heyday, and it has just about always had large numbers of "outsiders" visiting on a short term basis and outnumbering the locals--whether international traders, tourists, goods suppliers, or voyagers just passing through.

Of course, the enormous number of tourists these days is exceptional--it's a matter of degree more than substance. Not to say that the degree isn't important and that the nature of Venice will not change if the native population continues to fall. That is a shame, but Venice as a physical entity will remain "real" and worth visiting and experiencing.

Venice has just about always been "artificial" in terms of its "native" culture as people from all around the world made their impression on foods, architecture, business practices, arts, etc.

I don't think a comparision to Disneyland is especially appropriate. Disneyland is an artificially created environment, built from the ground up to entertain children. While many people find Venice interesting and entertaining, it certainly wasn't created for that purpose. The buildings are real buildings--not plasticized recreations. The streets real streets. The canals real canals.

Now if they begin to build something like Epcot Ctr., or create ticketed "gondola" rides in plastic gondolas that float down water chutes, that will be something else again.

This is a constant source of argument on message boards. When I read the Guardian, I felt like the story was behind the news -- and not because Venice has been a destination for foreigners for centuries. But because it has been feeling devoid of authentic life for some time now.

The comparison in feel to Disneyland seems a natural to me in a place where there are no cars, where people line up in long queues for famous attractions, where there are boat rides with singing operators in costume, historically preserved eateries, and where tens of thousands of people in shorts, Nikes and floppy hats meander taking pictures and licking triple scoops of gelato.

Love is blind, and the lovers of Venezia bristle terribly when others say they'd rather go elsewhere in Italy or only visit Venezia in winter, when the ratio of tourists to Venezians is less out of whack.

We truly loved Venice.

The time of year may have played a large part on why we feel this way, we traveled there during the winter season.

We wandered and wandered and wandered. I did not want to venture inside, and when we did, I couldn't wait to get back out. I can't explain why, it was like a magnetic pull.

The only time it ever came close to feeling touristy or artificial was one evening when our walk took us past all the restaurants behind St. Mark's and because it was the off season, they were a bit aggressive to have us dine with them. Not a big deal, we just smiled and continued our walk.

We truly loved Venice.

We feel lucky to have had a good visit with her.

The comparison to Disneyland seems very lame to me. I've been to both places and Venice is no Disneyland.

then there's the deterioration factor.

the Venetians have been stealing for centuries and "complaining" about it all the way to the bank.

For a taste of Venezia as experienced by those that actually live there (and 70,000 + do) read Donna Leon or Michael Dibdin. Yes, it is fiction, but it does provide the traveller another perspective to the Disneyesque typecasting that is suggested here. There is no genuine citizenry of Disneyworld/land. There is of Venice and that makes all the differerence.

tagging

I enjoy reading Donna Leon and her descriptions of places and feelings in Venice are right on. Story lines are good too. I don't see the Disneyland/Venice comparison either. It is a living, breathing city despite the loss of citizenry, and a very unique one at that. It's like comparing apples and oranges in my view. Disneyland is an amusement park, created for that purpose. Venice has a long, rich history, with an incredible Basilica, beautiful architecture, interesting surrounding islands and a feeling there I've had nowhere else. Going to Disneyland is fun, but visiting Venice is an experience I'll never forget.

Frankly I think all of Italy is being loved to death! Count the posts about trips there or planned trips to go there. We love Italy but haven't been there for four years. When I read recent trip reports and about the crowds and long waits to enter St. Peter's Basilica, the coliseum, etc. it's obvious that in just four years the crowds have grown tremendously. I don't remember standing in long lines at either place on past visits. I did, however, notice on our last trip that Florence was overrun with people compared to the time before we had been there. I guess it's a good thing for the Italians, but unfortunately not for some of us.

I just can't fathom comparing a real city like Venice, no matter how filled with tourists it is, to an artificial place actually created from whole cloth to attract customers.

I agree with Rufus that the buildings are real buildings, streets real streets and canals real canals. We were there in March 2005 and saw plenty of locals. My kids really enjoyed seeing the kids take the vaporetto home from school and watching the kids play football in the campos.

When you say "I think all of Italy is being loved to death!" that is pretty much the point of the Guardian article about Venezia.

PS: Just because something is dead doesn't mean it isn't beautiful. Death has been part of the allure of Venezia for many artists.