30 million. This is the number of tourists who visit Venice each year. Faced with this mass tourism, the 55,000 inhabitants of the lagoon, environmentalists and heritage lovers redouble their energy to stem the flow of visitors and preserve their city. The latest success: the ban on cruise ships weighing over 25,000 tonnes in the Giudecca Canal, one of the two main shipping lanes on the outskirts of Saint Mark's Square. But the measure, effective since August 1, seems to be only a first step in the desire to regulate tourist attendance.
This is indeed what Laura Berlinghieri, journalist for the Italian daily
La Stampa
,
revealed
in an August 21 article.
From the summer of 2022, the Serenissima could become… paying.
The price: between 3 and 10 € (depending on the season) to visit the historic center and the canals.
A way for the authorities to set a limit on the number of visitors allowed each day in the lagoon, with the installation of electronic turnstiles at the various entry points.
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An Italian Disneyland?
“
Venice will soon look like an amusement park
,” deplores city councilor Marco Gasparinetti, interviewed by
La Stampa. Rather, access should be restricted only to particularly frequented areas, such as St. Mark's Square.
"After a year at a standstill, these limitations are in any case difficult to swallow for tourism professionals"
We need cruise ships because passengers spend a lot in a short time. Economically, this arsenal of measures is a disaster for us
, ”adds a hotel employee.
The entry tax will however be reserved for day visitors. Residents and their relatives, children under six and people staying in local hotels will be exempt. No specific application date has yet been set, but these restrictions have already been approved by lawmakers, the daily said. An umpteenth attempt, the last perhaps, before Unesco added the City of the Doges to its list of world heritage in danger.
