HOW TO CONFRONT THE PROBLEM OF TOURISM? THE ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT CHOOSE CONTROL, BUT THE INVASION
There are two possibilities: either the members of the Administration do not understand Venice or they do not care about life in Venice, but are only protecting interests.
One of the problems with the tourist assault on Venice is without a doubt the groups that arrive in boats from the coast or elsewhere. The Municipality has stated the necessity of reducing their numbers, an objective achievable via a system of reservations (very simple, because the groups are “organized” by tourist agencies).
Instead the Administration does not address the number, which can therefore quietly grow, but rather the landings. So, the boats will dock at San Zaccaria, at Sant’Elena, and at Fondamente Nuove. What has been chosen, then, is the one way to “surround” the city, going to dock in places which up to now are quiet and livable enough.
Then there is the extraordinary intuition. On ‘red bullet’ days, close or limit the access to Piazza San Marco. This will produce, if put in action, the invasion of other areas of Venice, those few remaining which still enjoy a certain degree of tranquility.
And last, but not least, the choice to ask VIA for (the project to direct cruise ships through) Canale Vittorio Emanuele, the most simple choice to make sure that the cruise ships, ever larger, will be able to continue to pass undisturbed in the Bacino San Marco for the coming years, in complete tranquility.
-Giovanni Andrea Martini, President of the Municipality of Venice, via Facebook