Is Venice dying?

cities — By Bob Riel on November 20, 2009 at 7:14 am

It certainly seems that way to the Venetians who recently staged a mock funeral for their city. They were protesting the fact that the local population continues to shrink, while the cost of housing and the number of tourists continue to rise. A NY Times article reported on the event:

Part photo opportunity, part political theater, the spectacle was the centerpiece of a fake funeral for the city of Venice. A group of prankster-provocateurs organized it to protest the fact that the number of residents in Venice’s historic center has dropped below 60,000, down from 74,000 in 1993, as rising rents and hordes of tourists have pushed thousands to the mainland.

As a result, locals feel like an endangered species. “We’re going to turn into a city of ghosts if something isn’t done soon,” said Matteo Secchi, a local hotelier and a spokesman for Venessia, the group that organized the funeral. “In 30 years there might be zero Venetians left.” …

Real estate prices are steep in the historic center, and many property owners can command far more with short-term rentals to foreigners than with long-term rentals to residents.

As more people move to the mainland, many protest a decline in services in Venice proper, including medical offices, child care facilities, food shops and even cobblers. Many Venetians see the closing of a vast hospital complex on the Lido, which the city has put up for sale to developers, as the ultimate symbol of tourism over local interests.

“The city doesn’t do anything for us,” said Matteo Matteazzi, who came to watch the fake funeral. “They do more for tourists and students. We want to live here with our families. We want it to be a living city the way it was when we grew up here.”

We all love to travel, but it’s also a sad fact that tourism affects local life, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in detrimental ways. Venice is fast becoming more of a museum piece than a vibrant city, as locals are driven away by the high cost of real estate. It’s an issue for everyone who cares about that travel to be aware of, just as much as we care about the affect that tourism has on ancient ruins around the world.