There are some people who don’t want to pay five euros and others who are asking for the price to be twenty or thirty euros, with transportation and services included
By Maria Ducoli
April 22, 2024
It wasn’t yet half past ten, but Venice was already like an aquarium full of fish, too many of them, banging against each other and unable to swim. Then add the suitcases, the strollers, the irresistible lure of souvenirs, and of course the photos on the bridges, which make you drop everything right where you are, because if the perfect moment passes, the photo turns out badly.
On the final Sunday before the start of the experiment with the entry ticket, Venice was packed with visitors, as many as 60 thousand people. The ticket office set up for the contribution is taking shape in front of the station. Tourists don’t seem to notice it, but on the other hand it’s not Instagram material. Residents know little about it, because during the weekend they really try not to pass through that area. Even the prior of the Scalzi Carmelite friars, Ermanno Barucco, admits that he doesn’t completely know what it’s about. “The work in progress is already having an impact,” is all he says.
But it is not so much the structure being built to welcome tourists that is causing discussion, but rather the ticket itself, which has been at the center of controversy since last September, when it was approved by the city council.
“The administration wanted it, but the Venetians have clearly said they are against it” comments Martina Zennaro, of the Damage From Nightlife committee. She is worried about what will happen from 4 PM onwards, “when there will be a free-for-all. Then again, the administration didn’t want to lose those customers from the bacari tours, stag and hen parties and graduation parties” she continues. The committee’s opposition is only aimed at the five-euro contribution: certainly not at the need to limit the flow of tourists.
On this, Venetians all agree, as Father Barucco also confirms. “We’ll see what happens. But I believe that the reduction in the number of tourists is a good thing. The problem is understanding what tool can limit flows without creating impediments for people” he comments, adding that he himself has inquired about the exemption for the Carmelite brothers who come to Venice.
The employee at a newsstand a few steps from the station shakes her head. “The ticket? No, at five euros it’s useless. It doesn’t discourage people from coming – it should have been set at twenty or thirty” she says, taking care not to be hit by the crowd that is passing by, overwhelming and engulfing.
Even a store owner on Lista di Spagna – who makes a living there with tourism and the mania for taking magnets home – agrees, saying that the contribution should have been higher, even 30 euros but with transportation and services included in exchange.
Yet the payment of an entry fee is the top reason for opposition among Venetians, who fear the transformation of Venice into a Disneyland of northeastern Italy, into a museum with entry tickets to pay, gates and controls. On the other hand, however, those who are in favor of a more expensive ticket also say their main reason is the risk of the city becoming an amusement park, where everyone feels they have the right to show up and do whatever they want, without respecting Venice and its residents.
Source: La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre
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