A group of residents: “We’re not Cipriani, who complains about crime and immediately organizes a meeting, we understand that, but the situation here is serious.” The secretary of the party Venezia e Tua is on the attack: “A failure of security.”
July 11, 2026
By Marta Artico
“Those who live on Via Monti and the surrounding streets are heroes and must be helped to regain their rights.” The president of the Municipality of Mestre, Gennaro Marotta, visited Via Monti, the street that intersects with Via Fogazzaro. Via Monti is the subject of a petition from residents asking for help, as they forced every day to deal with drug addicts slumped on the ground, syringes, trails of blood, degradation, and petty crime linked to a daily life that has reached the limits of endurance.
“Objectively, the situation is dire,” says Marotta. “I’m working with the local police, with whom I have a good relationship and who are always available, to request greater protection of that area. Beyond everything else, there’s a real problem of livability and quality of life. It’s not just a question of visibility, but also one that generates economic losses. I think of those who invested their savings in a small apartment to pay their taxes and find themselves with reviews that ruin it. I wouldn’t go there either if I were a tourist. I think of the people who live on that street. Living there is truly heroic. Moreover, the area is almost entirely inhabited by foreigners. Those who continue to live there and don’t leave must be supported and helped to remain there with dignity. Integration, if it exists, is a good thing, but here we’re talking about a stretch of street that is occupied by drug addicts, completely out of control, and it needs to be reclaimed.”
And in fact, the residents’ group that has formed is called “Let’s Take Back Via Monti.” After an initial inspection, Marotta will return to meet with the most vocal residents in the coming days.
“We thank the president of Mestre,” explains the first signatory. “So far, he’s the only person who has responded promptly to our request for help and offered to help us. It truly means a lot to us.”
She continues: “The only solution we see is to install fences, but this means losing the war, because it means passing the problem on to private individuals and placing the burden on their shoulders. We’re not Cipriani, who complains about crime and immediately organizes a meeting. We understand that, but the situation here is serious. People are selling their homes, they’re leaving, but what happens if everyone does this? In Venice, there are pickpockets, drugs are starting to become a problem, but in Mestre, armored vehicles are really needed, and perhaps even those wouldn’t be enough.”
She continues: “On Via Monti, the residents do nothing but call the patrol cars, which drive these desperate people away, who then return. And as heartbreaking as it is, there are apartment buildings with all their garages tampered with, because these people are outside in the summer, living on the ground, while in the winter they seek refuge, and the same thing goes for the surrounding streets, which are all in the same situation.”
Salvator Frani, secretary of party Venezia è Tua, also weighed in on the issue of security: “The gap between the propaganda of the right that elected Venturini and the tragic reality of the citizens has now exceeded the safety threshold. On the crucial issues for community life, starting with security, the right has failed across the board. This right has built its consensus by promising order and legality. The result today? A war bulletin. The news stories speak for themselves. Via Cappuccina: a man stabbed in the throat by a gang of ten people at a tram stop. Via Piave: madmen on the roofs of cars waving shards of glass. Via Fiume: muggings of workers and drug dealing in broad daylight. This isn’t alarmism; it’s a daily urban Wild West. Where is the promised security? Where is the control of the territory?”
He clarifies: “Those who govern the city have lost control of the situation, leaving residents hostage to degradation and fear. Today Venturini thunders against liberalization and the sell-off of the historic center. But Venturini was the Tourism Councilor in recent years. Who was in charge while Venice was inundated with hit-and-run tourism, transforming into the “Disneyland” that he himself criticizes today? The mayor proposes magic remedies for the ills that he himself, with his inertia as a councilor, helped create.”
He concludes: “Venice and Mestre don’t need a smoke salesman who distributes futuristic recipes while stabbings take place in the streets. They need concreteness, answers, and intellectual honesty.”
Source: La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre
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