Councilor Pea (Fuchsia): “Residential housing has been sacrificed.” The issue of the cleanup needed to begin construction in the Giudecca area has also been raised.
December 2, 2025
By Eugenio Pendolini
The controversy over the redevelopment of the former Scalera-Trevisan area on Giudecca is escalating. And this time, following criticism from the opposition in recent days, the criticism of the approximately €40 million project by Ghms Venezia Spa (Marseglia group) is coming from within the majority itself.
Criticism from majority Councilor Pea
First of all, there is Councilor Giorgia Pea (Fuchsia group), who, in effect, denounced the council’s failure on the issue of housing in the commission on Monday, December 1st: “The mayor had promised 30,000 more residents in the lagoon. This result hasn’t been achieved, and on the contrary, with this measure we’re further increasing the number of hotel beds. Why approve a project like this at the end of the mandate?”
The majority councilor was speaking against the planned construction of 57 new rooms belonging to the Stucky Hotel [on Giudecca], which will be added to the 88 new units planned (22 of which will become municipal property, 32 for hotel employees, and the rest to be released on the market).
“I struggle to understand the public interest in this operation, which sacrifices a large amount of residential space in favor of hospitality,” Pea declared. Nicola Gervasutti, speaking on behalf of the Lega party, also expressed doubts. He said that the €9 million special contribution to the Municipality that is part of the project would have been better received in the budget rather than in the form of 22 municipal units: “This money could have been used to renovate the municipal units that the city already owns and are awaiting renovation.”
The Councilor’s Response
In response, Urban Planning Councilor Massimiliano De Martin defended the measure, explaining that he didn’t need to convince anyone.
Municipal Councilor Turiddo Pugliese also expressed doubts in the commission, claiming that the plan now under consideration aims to address a situation of decay caused by private individuals rather than public entities: “Why, then, is the focus always on hospitality?”
The Inspection
And precisely on the subject of the decay, on the afternoon of December 1st, the councilors visited the former Scalera and Trevisan area to see firsthand the state of abandonment of the buildings and better understand the project’s details.
They were accompanied by former councilor and chief project designer Roberto D’Agostino. Among the issues that emerged, which had not previously been addressed by the commission, was the need for significant remediation of the former Scalera, an area once occupied by agricultural businesses, glass processing companies, and film production.
“It’s shocking to see how such a vast area”, said City Councilor Cecilia Tonon (Venezia è Nostra) at the end of the inspection, “has remained in this state of decay and abandonment for all these decades”. The measure will now have to go back to committee before reaching the city council.
Source: La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre
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