Another week, another protest against what appears to many to be yet another blow to Venice's well-being and its ability to control its own future.
The mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, is not happy about this, nor are the many other Venetians who showed up at the Arsenale yesterday morning to register their disapproval.
And so another struggle begins...
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| "Viva Venezia! Viva San Marco!" |
What does this mean? Or what could it mean if worse came to worst?
ReplyDeleteNot "Shops At The Arsenale," I hope.
I'm not sure that anyone is sure what it means--least of all me. But in a once-significant city that has watched all of its population and its power be lost to the mainland, this would transfer another large and historically-important chunk of it into private hands and out of its own control.
DeleteIf the recent example of the L'Ospedale al Mare and Teatro Marinoni is anything to go by--and many fear it is--then it could mean another "luxury" hotel and condo development. (Though I should note that I just saw a report in Il Gazzettino that The San Clemente Palace hotel is scheduled to close soon--with the loss of 150 jobs.)
"Luxury hotel and condo development...."
DeleteHow thoughtless and crass greed has made us. We're screwing the planet and everything on it.
Since my last visit in '96, Venice seems to have undergone a hotel boom. There's even (and for some reason, I find this particularly disturbing) a hotel in the Procuratie Vecchie!
The whole world is changing too fast. Makes me queasy.
So very very fast, indeed.
DeleteI think the hotel boom since the last time you visited has been accompanied by a change in laws that made it easier for individuals to rent out their properties for short-terms. I should double-check this, but I seem to recall something like this, and I've certainly seen the effects of it. It's a boon for certain individuals.
By the way, as of 2011 it's illegal in NYC for individuals to rent out apartments they own for less than a 30 day term--which seems an effort by legislators to protect the city's hotels. Of course, all the law has done is create a whole lot of law-breakers.
Oh dear - and as you mention really disappointing as it seemed to be a 'done deal' with the Aresenale going to the city. I do hope that minds can be changed on this.
ReplyDeletePlease keep us posted on what's happening with this.
I have to find out much more about this, Mary, but I don't think that people here will accept it as a "done deal". I mean, somebody was finally able to prevent them from closing the old hospital of the Scuola di San Marco and transferring everything to the mainland. So, chissa?
DeleteOh no. More chance for corporate greed at the expense of the locals. I'm imagining an 'exclusive' marina which allows in only yacht-owning millionaires. Let's hope the deal falls through.
ReplyDeleteIf corporate interests continue to have their way, the question may very soon be: "What locals?"
DeleteThe other day I was speaking to someone who grew up on Giudecca and was stunned to be reminded again of how many things were once made in factories in the lagoon. Low-paying jobs at hotels and "exclusive" marinas are not going to keep residents in a city of rising real estate prices. So, yes, Andrew, let's hope...