tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post1220703301799906311..comments2024-03-19T03:16:39.159-04:00Comments on venezia blog: War and Peace on Riva degli Schiavoni, This MorningSteven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-42087425006714901682016-10-13T08:31:40.950-04:002016-10-13T08:31:40.950-04:00I think it might be safe to say that when visitors...I think it might be safe to say that when visitors to your city--whether they are loyal return visitors or first-time visitors--start to ask whether it's worth coming, or whether by coming they'll actually be doing harm, you, as city administrators, have got a real problem on your hands. A problem that cannot be solved by simply trying to jam MORE visitors into the city or developing more "luxury destinations" in the lagoon. <br /><br />One of the problems here seems to be, in other words, that in taking the resident population for granted, the city leaders may also be taking their visitors--and maybe even their "best" visitors (ie, in strictly economic terms, those who spend the most money in the city)--for granted. And that's not good. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-44873860819697090462016-10-13T08:20:21.153-04:002016-10-13T08:20:21.153-04:00I agree with you, Anonymous, that the best that ca...I agree with you, Anonymous, that the best that can be said about any notions of re-establishing some old "pure" nostalgic version of Venice is that they are absurd (at worst, blatantly racist etc.). But with the exception of perhaps some die-hard Lega Nord-style Venetian separatist crackpots, I don't think that is what this debate is about. The problem is not tourism per se, the problem is how tourism is being managed--or mismanaged, or not managed at all. And it's a problem that affects tourist as well as residents. We have seen how it has led to the loss of residents, but it may also lead to the loss of tourists as well at some point--as well as, perhaps, the destruction of the lagoon. <br /><br />It's not an either/or issue, but one that involves a lot of questions, such as: What kinds of tourism actually produce the most jobs and/or revenue in and for the city? How can the tourism experience be made better for both tourists and residents? Are there some kinds of jobs that might be developed in the lagoon in addition to tourism as a way of broadening the economic base? What kinds of changes in laws or the tax code might be made to encourage more unused buildings to be made available for residents rather than tourists? And so on... <br /><br />Of course Italy--and not only Italy--is struggling with the notion of a multi-cultural Italy; which, given the history of the peninsula and the variety of people & cultures who have moved across it over the centuries, is naive, to say the least. In Venice, with its own extensive history of outside cultural influences from the East and Far East and Middle East and Africa, it is even more naive to fantasize about some "pure" (ie white) Venetian-ness. But at this point, such racist nonsense is less of a problem (relatively speaking) than the simple fact that the historic city does not have the jobs or affordable housing for much of anyone, regardless of whether they were born in the Venetian lagoon, the Alps, India, Syria, the Ukraine, Africa, etc. <br /><br />At this point, in other words, one might even take it as a sign of life in the historic center if, say, some group of locals was concerned that a large vibrant of community of Syrians or Africans or Benglasdeshi living in a certain sestiere weren't assimilating "quickly enough" or whatever. That would at least mean that there was an influx of newcomers, raising the kinds of issues that inevitably arise in such situations. <br /><br />Instead, alas, there is only an outflux. And that's the problem. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-55877010854549936152016-10-09T13:03:45.220-04:002016-10-09T13:03:45.220-04:00The idea, and many others about tourists and “outs...The idea, and many others about tourists and “outsiders’ visiting or living in Venice, is a quaint one but one undeniably rooted in xenophobia and racism. One can draw a direct comparison with many small town people in America that don't want things to change are threatened by these ambiguous "others" that may come to their small towns. But where we make fun of the small town racists in America, we somehow respect the Venetians for their views. They want a never changing, homogeneous way of life stuck deep in the past, a past that wasn’t nearly a bucolic as your dreams. Americans want their steel mill jobs, the coal mining jobs, and their purely white protestant community to stay that way. Venice is the same, struggling to somehow maintain a Venetian purity of fishing, trade, and antiquated industry long since dead. If we get rid of, or limit, the outsiders everything will be great! <br />Sorry Venetians, the slave trade is not making a comeback! You will never be an international shipping power again. Your children are not likely to become fisherman or ocean going traders. There is this false and romantic idea that Venice can somehow survive without tourism and an influx of new people, that there is a way to stop progress and still earn enough to survive. An idea that if the cruise ships and tourists disappear there will suddenly be these dynamic new jobs that the youth will stick around to perform! These ideas are all unrealistic for the future. If you insist that Venice is only for historic Venetians, the city will die. Just as the steel and coal industries will never recover and America will never again be lily white, Venice will NEVER again be populated by the "Venetians". If you cut off tourism and the new residents, you will have a Venice dropped into poverty, filled with a geriatric and dying population. With palazzos that will crumble and fall into the canals. With restaurants and shops owned by locals go out of business, leading to an even greater exodus. <br />Venice needs to learn to move with the times and accept the fact that new people can also be Venetians. Accept that in the future there may be no residents whose Great-Great grandparents were born there. What they will have is people like you, your son, and perhaps his son, who are first and second generation Venetians. Accept that Venice will never again be sufficient without the tourist dollar. Learn not to resent that. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-29952268092677854992016-10-07T09:20:05.364-04:002016-10-07T09:20:05.364-04:00As someone who loves Venice, I start to wonder alm...As someone who loves Venice, I start to wonder almost whether it is better not to come. We try to stay in an apartment and to shop locally. The cruise ships are a menace really, both in terms of how they dwarf the city as they pass and the huge groups who visit briefly and buy only tourist tat. Venice will not be the same without Venetians...<br />Gwyneddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15987049269068393744noreply@blogger.com