Fights, drugs and thefts: what was once the quietest district has had continuous problems in recent months. Residents speak out
By Maria Ducoli
August 23, 2024
It seems like everyone between San Girolamo, Baia del Re and Tre Archi has an episode to relate. There are those who have had their clothes stolen off the line, those who have caught gangs of hooded kids playing pranks in the middle of the night, those who have witnessed brawls and those who have seen people taking a dose on the stairs of their homes. “This is no longer the area we once knew” say Eugenio and Alberto, 94 and 87 years old respectively, born and raised in Baia del Re. Every morning, they take a seat on the red enameled benches and watch the reflections in the waters of the lagoon of a district they do not recognize any more. “For a couple of months things have gotten worse. We are elderly but we are worried about young people” they say, “the problem is that the Government is not doing enough, harsher penalties are needed.”
Fabio Bianchi also often passes by Baia del Re, where his elderly father lives. “Once this was the quietest area of Venice, now you have to be careful when passing through in the evening. I don’t know what happened, it’s probably linked to the fact that many non-EU citizens arrived” he says.
“The problem isn’t just “foreigners”. Many are kids from here who we know” Margherita Cavallin, resident in one of the condominiums in Saffa, shakes her head. “Here the situation is not as terrible as in Baia or San Girolamo, but everyone knows that there is drug dealing” she adds. Last June, not surprisingly, she found a boy injecting himself on the stairs of her house. In Saffa, among other things, there is a small police command, but several citizens complain that it is not a garrison they can count on, because it is often closed or in any case does not help those who make reports.
Last week, in the same area, some children who were playing found a large kitchen knife on the roof of a small shed that is used in the event of a fire to connect the fire pumps. “Everything passed in silence” comments a mother, “how is it possible that our children find a weapon while they are playing?”.
Moving to Fondamenta Cannaregio, no one hesitates to point the finger at the sottoportego dei Vedei, an increasingly frequent meeting point for drug dealers and the scene of arguments and brawls between them. Not only that, there are also stories about harassment of some girls in the bars, who ran away before the situation took a turn for the worse. How much is true, and how much is exaggerated, in the cellphone exchanges around the city? To what extent is this corner of the district actually at the mercy of degradation and crime? Finding an answer is difficult, but the experiences of the residents form a mosaic in which a situation of serenity and tranquility certainly does not come through. Claudia Lacchin, who lives behind the Ghetto Novissimo, also confirms this.
“A few days ago they stole some trousers that I had left hanging outside,” she says, speaking of the small and large mischiefs that are growing tiresome in the long run. “Just a short time ago there was a group of kids who removed the plaster from the houses and threw it against the door of a warehouse near my house. One evening I had the window open, and they threw some stones into my kitchen too. If any of us had been there, even just to drink a glass of water, what would have happened?” she asked, not concealing a hint of bitterness: “The police often know who is responsible for certain episodes we see. The residents report them, but there always seems to be an excuse. Either they are young, or they are dangerous, and it is better to leave it alone. So, no one protects us” she concludes.
This too is an issue, because in Cannaregio there is a subtle and silent fear that unites the residents: drug dealers and vandals often live in the house next door, and there is a fear of retaliation. Names and surnames are known, sometimes even family history, “because in the end Venice is a small town” Cavallin confirms and, as a self-respecting country, one doesn’t trust in exposing oneself too much. This is why we rely on the police, even if the citizens have the perception that they are not sufficiently protected.
Source: La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre
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