Venice Today by Derek Wyatt
Venice has always been a disaster away from a disaster.
This classiest of cities consists of about 120 or so small islands inter connected backwards and forwards by endless canals and the odd bridge. I doubt if you had started it today it would have attracted much inward investment. Its entire premise is frankly bonkers: it consists of timber buildings on stilts being "grounded" on dodgy marsh. It would have led to your house, church or factory gradually sinking. So doff your Doge's cap to the saints and sinners who have brought off this vast extravaganza.
Unusually, I do not want to dwell on the past. I want to dwell on the present. We are used to Venice and its corrupt medieval practices; its attempts to be more Machiavellian than Machiavelli; its three sides to every face et al. But pay attention for Venice's current problems do not bode well.
First up was its Mayor Giorgi Orsoni who was arrested in 2014 for embezzling as much as £14m from a UNESCO grant of €5.5b. Another 35 were also indicted. After plea bargaining he was given a suspended sentence of 4 months. The grant was to create a set of Moses barriers for Venice to stop it flooding. Progress is woeful.
Not far behind was Venice's new airport complex designed by Frank Gehry. the greatest living architect. This was first proposed in 2008 and had the financial backing of the EU. Sadly, it is so far behind schedule that it may never be finished. The current Marco Polo airport is fourth rate which is being generous.
As if that was not enough, Santiago Calatrava's "new" bridge the Ponte della Costituzione (the fourth across the Grand Canal) has opened and closed. It was officially opened on 11th September, 2008. This spectacular bridge of glass has had some undesired effects. Tourists complained of migraines and disabled users were bitterly disappointed because there was no wheelchair access. When it rains the glass is slippery (there's a shock) and luggage wheels have broken tiny panes of glass. Currently, there is a £90m overspend and a court case against the architect.
Whilst these projects have caused alarm amongst the cognoscenti there are two further developments which are undermining the future of Venice. Murano glass is but one reason to travel to Venice. But, foolishly, the many and varied trade unions on the island have somehow allowed the Chinese to muscle in on their trade. Now there is fake glass everywhere.
If that was not worrying enough, the new Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, elected on a manifesto in 2014 to stop the cruise ships (known affectionately as "bruisers") from docking just south of the city, has kept his hands in his pockets. At the height of the bruiser season six thousand passengers a week are disgorged.
These day trippers just want to lick (gelato), click (cameras) and flick (their pasta). They are not like the average tourist who stays three or four nights before moving on to Verona, Milan or the lake districts of Garda and Como. They do not expect to queue to see St Mark's or the clock tower. They give the Biennale a thumbs down. They do not have the time to search for bespoke paper shops which have their own beautiful marble papers or a trattoria. They expect to be feted.
Aside from the ecological damage these bruisers do to Venice, they are changing the very nature of the City. Shop rents are up substantially. Many older families can no longer afford to live in the City and are travelling 20-30 miles to come to work. This is unhealthy and is tearing at the very being of Venice.
It truly is time for the new Mayor to turn the screw.