Hello Tourism, Goodbye Venice

Katelyn JohnsonEnglish 1020

Hello Tourism, Goodbye Venice

Italy is one of the most tourist-visited

countries in the world. From Rome’s Coliseum

to the Leaning Tower of Pisa to St. Peter’s

Basilica in the Vatican—there is so much you

can’t afford to miss. It’s undeniable that cities

such as Sicily, Florence and Rome are all beautiful, but no other city in Italy (some can

even argue in the world) is as uniquely and aesthetically pleasing as Venice.

Imagine sitting in a flat bottomed banana shaped boat, gliding down a canal,

driven by a professional whose art was passed down from generation to generation,

who trained for years before taking a test to earn the title of Gondolier. Around you are

buildings which can be dated back to the fifth century, back when Italians first started

inhabiting what is known today as Venice—buildings whose backyards are one of the

150 canals that run through the entire city. In front of you lies the heart of the city, the

Piazza San Marco (St. Marks Square), where every year the annual festival Carnival is

held. During this celebration, extravagant masks and costumes are worn with pride to

showcase Venice’s history and the colorful Venetian culture. These are the famous

symbols that make Venice Venice, and they have helped shape who and what Venetian

culture has become. Without them, this beautiful city would not be the vibrant, attractive

place we see it as today.

Venice’s beginning can be dated back all the way to the 400s AD. During this

time, Italy and the Roman Empire experienced numerous European Barbarian raid

attacks that were deadly for the Italian population. In attempt to escape death, many

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Italians moved north into the Venetian lagoon where they would temporarily stay until

the current raid was over. This lagoon was not the most ideal place to live. There was

nowhere to build, no material to build with, nowhere to grow crops, and there was no

fresh water, but the raiders would not bother to cross bodies of water to reach the

migrated Italians. Therefore, this lagoon became a safe zone during attacks. Despite its

unlivable nature, desperate times called for desperate measures. The Lombards, a

German barbarian group, decided to settle on the mainland, forcing Italians to either

submit to their power or permanently move into what had become their safe zone. This

wasn’t easy. The Venetians became traders in order to obtain what they needed to live

as a society. They couldn’t drink the water that surrounded them, but they could extract

the salt from it and trade it for other valuables, like wood. That’s exactly what they did.

After numerous attempts of trial and error to create a good foundation to build upon, the

Venetians came up with the idea to drive long wooden logs into the soft sediment to

reach firmer ground. On top of these wooden logs, the Venetians then built a layer of

wooden cross beams and a layer of water resistant marble, thereby laying the perfect

indefinite foundation (after a long time, wood underwater petrifies and becomes much

like stone) in which they could then build their city upon. The construction of the first

cathedral in Venice (Torcello) was the Venetian’s statement of, “We are here and we

are staying”. In their long history, Venetians have survived invasions, they survived

living in an unlivable environment, they survived outbreaks of malaria, and they survived

war. Whatever life threw at this city, the people would find a way to adapt (Ancient

Mysteries).

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There is no doubt that Venice is a beloved city. The culture, the people and the

undeniable beauty are what attract tourists to the streets of Venice. Every year, Venice

experiences approximately 20 million tourists (Squires). That’s almost 60,000 people a

day! This amount of tourism is great for the economy because businesses are gaining

greater profits, higher income rates, better tax revenue, and in a way, it even creates

new and more jobs. However, this much tourism also has negative effects on society,

especially for a city like Venice. For example, Venice is literally rotting from the

foundation up. This is not all caused by tourism and is actually a natural occurrence

based on how the city was built. Nonetheless, the destruction process is greatly

speeded up by water movement. Every time cruise ships move through the city, the

movement of water slowly erodes the foundations of homes and other buildings.

Another example of a negative effect is the migration of Venetian people to other nearby

cities due to increased living expenses caused by the abundance of tourism. In this

modern era, it is so expensive to purchase a home and live financially comfortable in it

in Venice. Not to mention, Venetians are becoming increasingly annoyed with tourists

and their constant activity that seems to be invading their lives. It’s not the same to live

in Venice as it was fifty years ago. It’s more of a hassle and this too is forcing people to

move to the mainland (of Italy). Similarly, in order for businesses to succeed they must

adapt to what consumers are buying, which is typically tourist-related items like

souvenirs. Throughout the city, it is either completely changing businesses or it’s

causing them to fail. All of these, in their own ways, are diminishing the very reason why

tourism is so high in Venice. The city is unique and beautiful and is a place that

deserves to be seen and experienced, but take away the people, the structures and the

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history and you have nothing left. If you take the hearts out of Venetian culture, you will

have nothing to experience when you visit.

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It’s not unusual that a city built on water experiences acqua alta, the Italian

phrase meaning “high water”, that often leads to flooding. In fact, it’s so usual that

Venetians have been dealing with

floods practically since it was first built.

In 1240, Venice’s streets were six feet

under water. In 1268, a flood caused

the death of many Venetians. The

lowest point on land is the Piazza San

Marco and this spot roughly,

nowadays, experiences 50 floods a year. Of course, this has dramatically increased

quickly over the centuries due to the slow sinking of the city and the increase in height

of the tides, but even in the 1950s the Piazza San Marco was experiencing 20 floods a

year. Restaurant owners in the Piazza listen for high water sirens that signal when a

flood might be coming. They scramble to pack their outdoor patio furniture indoors to

keep them safe. As tough and annoying as that may seem, what’s even worse is that

business fails when there’s a flood. With 50 floods occurring in a given year, imagine

how much money these businesses and restaurants are losing (Harris).

The terrifying increase of floods is a problem in need of a solution all in itself, but

the point attempting to be made is not the floods themselves, but the effects that water

has on the city. Floods are normal, but if water erosion was a major issue in the past,

Venice would most likely not still be

standing after all of this time. But it’s the

increase of water movement (including

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from the rise in flood numbers) that are drawing attention. As well as flooded streets and

homes, which are slowly being destroyed, there’s the issue of the erosion of the very

foundation early Venetians spent three years building. Venice is a hot spot stop on

cruise lines and these giant ships annually carry about 2 million people into the floating

city. This wouldn’t be a huge deal if the cruise ships didn’t force` their way into the heart

of the city by canal. The more cruise ships that come, the greater and more forceful the

water displacement (Stieghorst). Although the wooden logs dug deep into the lagoon’s

sediment are supposed hold up indefinitely, the stone and brick that make up the

buildings built on top of this sturdy foundation are not. Frequent acqua alta (as we know

means “high water”) allows the understructure of buildings to go through the process of

erosion. This means that water is forcing bits and pieces of the building materials

(stones, bricks, rocks, etc.) to break and wash away. It’s a slow reaction, but the result

can be devastating.

Another contributing factor that tourism has provided is the decline in Venice’s

population. We can thank the Venetians for such valuables as high heeled shoes,

casinos, income tax and easel painting, some of which really draw a picture of Venetian

culture (Williams). So then the question arises: what would Venice look and feel like

without Venetian people? It’s a good question. The truth is, Venetians will never

become an extinct race of humans, but the decrease in the population is something to

truly be concerned about. In an article written by Joseph Harris in Smithsonian

Magazine back in 2002, Harris states, “…with the population dropping faster than that of

any other shrinking Western European city: from 151,000 in 1951 to a bit more than

60,000 today” (Harris). Why has there been such a decline in Venice’s residential

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population? The increase in tourism can’t be all there is to blame, but it’s definitely

making life for people living in Venice miserable. With increased tourism comes an

increased expense. Living in Venice is a very expensive ordeal nowadays as far as

buying a home. An apartment of 1,100 square feet can cost anywhere from 1 million to

1.27 million dollars in the historic part of the city. If you want to live on the Grand Canal,

it’s even more. Venetians can partly thank the new hotels, inns and restaurants being

built for this. Every time a new building is constructed in Venice, a city with very little

room in the first place, the price of real estate increases dramatically. Venetians,

especially the younger generation, cannot afford this (Povoledo). But it isn’t just the

price of homes that have gone up.

When tourists come, they want to purchase souvenirs. This means they want

Carnival style masks, valuables made from Murano glass, and typical souvenirs like

mugs and postcards and key chains. They

don’t need the everyday necessities like

grocery stores or clothing and shoe stores

or repair shops or entertainment spots like

movie theaters and arcades (Povoledo).

So the majority of businesses that are

succeeding on Venice streets are shops

that cater to what consumers want to buy most. This causes the demand for every day

products to decline and therefore the prices on these products to rise. Not only is this

tough for Venetian citizens, but also for the Venetians who own these businesses. If

expenses are increasing and the population of people who need these everyday

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products (mainly those who live on the lagoon) is declining, there is little demand for the

products being supplied and ultimately it will be harder for these shops to stay open.

You could say that in time, tourist attractions and souvenir shops will take over the

majority of the businesses in the city. Not all, but most.

Imagine the city you’ve lived and grown up in becoming the next hottest tourist

destination in the world. All of a sudden, millions of people a year are visiting your home

of which already has little room for increased population. All of your favorite places to

eat, shop and relax have changed to cater the demand of tourists. Instead of being able

to shop for a new pair of shoes, your favorite shoe store is gone and instead sells

souvenir t-shirts of which you have no interest in. Maybe there’s a farmer’s market in the

heart of the city that you used to love buying your fruit from because the farmer was an

old friend of your father’s. It’s gone, and that farmer is gone too. Instead, in its place is a

market selling tacky key chains and snow globes and postcards. To get from one place

to another, you have always taken public transportation but nowadays it’s more of a

hassle than anything. You have to fight for a seat on that bus because it’s packed full of

foreigners wearing cameras around their necks. Planes used to fly into the airport that’s

near your house a few times a day, but now it’s a dozen times a day and all you see are

planes. Business at work is dying because tourists have no interest in signing up for a

bank account that only works out of your city. Would you not feel annoyed too?

This all sounds absurd, but it’s

truly not. That is the life of a Venetian.

The businesses they used to visit on a

weekly basis are no longer there or are

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now carrying products that adapted to their new consumer body. Their “water busses”,

known to Venetians as Vaporetti, are crowded with tourists. Their views now include

more and more incoming cruise ships (not planes, but you get the idea). Hotel after

hotel is being constructed even though there isn’t enough room. Would you be happy?

Probably not, and neither are the Venetians. This frustration is another factor leading to

the decline in Venice’s population.

Out of the millions of cities in the world, Venice, Italy happens to be the second

on my list of cities to visit. My fascination began about a year ago when I watched an

episode of Discovery Atlas following the lives of four

Italians (all whom lived in different cities). Alessandro, a

Venetian man working hard to earn his title of

Gondolier, and his story intrigued me as did the

obvious beauty of the city he lived in. One of the

statements Alessandro made that hit me the hardest

was when he was talking about how if he didn’t pass the test and become a Gondolier,

his family and himself would be forced to move out of Venice, despite their desperation

to stay in their beloved home city, simply because they wouldn’t be able to afford it.

While watching this, I didn’t blame him for wanting to stay in Venice. Not only was it

beautiful and unique but it was his home and had been his entire life. I believed in that

moment (and still do) that he had every right to continue living there and I thought about

how unfair it was that Venetians were being pushed out of their city because it had

become too expensive. I wanted to know why this

was happening, so I did a little bit of research and

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found out that tourism was a huge contributing factor. If tourism could shove Venetians

out of their city, what else was it causing?

To my horror, I found more. I discovered the erosion of the foundations of

buildings, I came across the failure of businesses, and I realized that all of these things

contributed to making Venice the way we fell in love with it. Venetian culture comes

directly from the inhabitants of the lagoon, the buildings that were constructed on a

manmade foundation, and the history of the perseverance to survive. All of this is being

threatened.

Taking away tourism would not be the best of ideas. In fact, it would be the worst

idea for everyone involved. As bad as tourism in Venice may seem, it benefits the

economic system tremendously that if we were to take away all of the profits gained by

tourist money, Venice would no longer have a functioning economy. It’s gotten to the

point where the future of Venice depends on tourism to survive. However, that doesn’t

mean that tourism can’t be controlled. That’s the proposition I’m introducing: put

controls and limitations on the amount of tourism in Venice and when.

How can this be accomplished,

you might ask? Well in a way,

it’s already been attempted.

Venice’s City Hall back in 2002,

according to Daniel Williams in an article in the Washington Post, was issuing tourists in

advance a Venice card that would gain them access into museums, transportation and

even public restrooms. The city was able to control who came into the city by only giving

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out a specific number of cards for any given day and allowing only those with cards to

enter the city (Williams).

Another attempt has been the redirection of cruise ship routes. These large,

multi-story ships are now limited to where they can drop tourists off. Not only is this

forcing tourists into a specific area, but its limiting the area in which water is

progressively eroding the foundations of buildings (Stieghorst).

The redirections of cruise ships is extremely helpful and the Venice card is a

great idea, but what Venice needs is a bigger idea, one that doesn’t just control

museum entrances and pays for transportation in advance or aids in slowing the

progress of erosion. If Venice can set up specific times during the year that tourists can

visit and also monitor and control how many are coming during this time, it would greatly

help the tourism problem without eliminating it altogether. They should take the idea of

the Venice card and extend it. The only tourists who should be allowed into Venice

would buy their spot prior to their trip, much like you would reserve a seat on a plane by

purchasing a ticket. These new cards would only be available for specific times, for

instance the month of Carnival, or a month or two during summer, one month in the fall

and winter, the week of New Years, etc. This would bring an increase in tourism money

because of the profits they’ll make with the offering of these new cards. This is good

considering the economy will see a drop in tourism expenses when tourists aren’t

allowed to come and go as they please. This would relieve Venetians from the constant

overwhelming experience of tourists, allowing them to potentially stay if they could still

afford it. Real estate might go down with the decline in the construction of hotels and

other accommodations, as well as the decline in tourism revenue, which could benefit

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Venetians tremendously. This would also allow businesses that don’t revolve around

tourism consumables to flourish because there would be more people in need of the

other products and services. It would not, however, stop the foundations from eroding,

but with less frequent water movement, the process will hopefully slow down.

In conclusion, Venice is a city suffering from events that are both natural and

unnatural. There is very little anyone can do about the floods that have been occurring

since Venice’s beginning, but there are ways to help the effects of tourism. If tourism

continues to push Venetians out of their home city, if more businesses are forced to

shut down due to unsuccessfulness, and if the foundations that hold the city together

keep eroding at the rate they are, there will no longer be a place called Venice to visit.

Attempts are being made to control

tourism. For instance, cruise ships are

being redirected away from Venice’s

canals, and “Venice Cards” were issued

for a while. We should control who comes

into the city and when by setting laws that

only allow a certain amount of people at a

time and only during specific times of the year. The idea of the “Venice Cards” was

great and if we can think of something similar to them, we might be able to accomplish

the control we are striving for. However, simply controlling who is entering museums

and other tourist destinations isn’t enough. We need to be able to control who’s entering

the city as a whole. If we can do that, there might be hope for at least another few

centuries of visiting Venice.

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Works Cited

Ancient Mysteries: Miraculous Canals of Venice. Prod. Martin Gillam. Perf. Leonard Nimoy. 1996. A&E Television Network, 2005. DVD.

Harris, Joseph A. "Turning the Tide. (Cover Story)." Smithsonian 33.6 (2002): 76. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Newman, Cathy. "Vanishing Venice." National Geographic 216.2 (2009): 88. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Squires, Nick. "Is Venice being loved to death?." Christian Science Monitor 31 Oct. 2012: N.PAG. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Stieghorst, Tom. "Venice To Reroute Biggest Ships But Will Maintain Terminal." Travel Weekly 73.34 (2014): 8. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

Povoledo, Elisabetta. “Death of Venice? Tourists Pour in as Residents Head Out; Some Fear the City may have Reached 'Point of Collapse'.” The International Herald Tribune 30 Sep. 2006: Newspaper. 9 Apr. 2015

Williams, Daniel. "In Venice, Commanding A Tourist Tide; City Hopes Tickets Will Regulate Flow of Travelers." Washington Post F 26 Jan. 2002. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

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