They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but it seems there is such a thing as useless and unprofitable publicity, judging from the signs (seen above) recently affixed to one of the largest of the fish stalls in the Rialto Pescheria.
Indeed, for any fishmonger struggling to stay afloat in a city whose resident population is steadily dwindling, it must finally get quite aggravating to find one's tables surrounded by hoards of people jostling to get a look and to know that not one of them will actually buy anything. They are there only to capture a bit of cliched local color, and if their snaps inspire any future tourists to follow in their footsteps (or, more likely, those of a hired guide), those future gawkers also won't be there to buy either. Only to take--a picture or two and move on.
So, a couple of weeks ago the above signs first appeared. I photographed the one above last Monday, after buying a kilogram of the most beautiful fresh yellow fin tuna you could imagine--and which ended up tasting even better than it looked.
But apparently this vendor's attempt to draw the tourist hoards into some kind of exchange--if only that of an image for a euro--must have failed. For by Friday new signs had gone up over all the tables:
NO PHOTOS, Thanks
I can understand your frustration, and that of the fishmongers. In the decades we've been travelling to Venice we've seen boorish behaviour increase, and the importance of the photo-opportunity seems to be all. People posing, pouting and blocking the handrail on the bridges abound - and they dislike it when one asks them to let one use the handrail to get bay - as well as the assumption that the whole place is merely there as a set to use! I wish there was a gadget that would jam cameras!
ReplyDeleteAs overcrowded as Venice is on many days--which is not really each individual tourist's fault, but that of the city authorities who are supposed to tend to such issues--it often takes a concerted effort to avoid appearing rude, crammed in together as everyone is. Are people ruder now than they were 20 years ago? I wouldn't even hazard a guess--nor find it worthwhile to do so. The key difference is that now the fishmongers are struggling to stay in business in the absence of residents and they just don't have much patience for crowds who offer not even the slightest commerce.
DeleteSteve, you’ve made It to Facebook!
ReplyDeleteOur issue is that we usually stay for a week to 10 days in an apartment and take 1000s of photos AND pump €€€€ into the local economy as we go, with cafes , restaurants, supermarkets AND at the Rialto markets.
This attitude harms this type of tourist more than most, it is making me think twice about my Christmas break this year. But it won’t phase the tour groups, they’ll just shrug and move on, sneaking a pic on their phones....
I hear what you're saying, Rob, and, yes, indeed, nothing does seem to phase mass tour groups--nor perhaps even register. Yet there's only one fish stall that has put up this sign, so you can make of it what you will--and photograph the others as much as you'd like.
ReplyDeleteI used to be the book buyer and manager of independent bookstores in Manhattan, so I'm not unfamiliar with the strain that struggling to stay in business can have upon a workplace and those who labor in it (and, luckily, we never had to do it while non-customers took our pictures all morning long).
If such reactions from Venice businesses offend one then perhaps it is best to think twice about visiting here. But I've seen little sign that those with real power in Venice are much concerned about longer-term visitors ceasing to come. On the contrary, heavily invested in the airport and the port as they are, their goal seems to be to shuttle as many people through the city as efficiently as possible.
When I was in Venice in September 2018; I went down to the Rialto fish markets to do a one model fashion shot. As we walked around looking at the market and talking to the fish mongers I said to my client, 'how will they survive, this will all have to be subsidised if they want to keep it.' I even apologised for not being able to buy anything - do I take it back to the hotel kitchen and ask someone to cook it for me? Air B&B; short term private accommodation is a massive ill and a growing problem in popular cities around the world. In Venice I can see it is critical. My heart goes out to the city.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Kent, these kinds of problems aren't confined to Venice--though in the confines of Venice they're particularly noticeable, indeed are everywhere you look (if you're the type who does look). But many other places have taken concrete steps to try to address, say, the destructive influence of Air Bnb, while Venice's mayor Brugnaro simply, at best, blows smoke and spews hot air: another of the world's many "click bait" politicians, whose power rests not on any actual accomplishments but on a steady stream of provocations (often in the form of outright buffoonery).
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