Venice hosts its own funeral

by Katie Hammel on

Venice is dying. At least, according to Newsweek it is. The population has been shrinking so rapidly (it dropped below 60,000 this year) that the mag predicts there won’t be a single full-time resident in the city by 2030. A city that sees millions of visitors per year, an average of 55,000 per day, won’t be home to a single person. Yeah, I’d call that a dead city.

To draw attention to the issue, residents of Venice have organized a mock funeral in which three gondolas will pull a red coffin through the city’s canals on Saturday, November 14th.

In addition to the flood of tourists who make the city nearly unlivable during summer months, other factors such as increasing home prices and a shrinking tax base, have combined to result in the mass exodus of long-time Venetians.

One of the organizers of the “funeral” says this doesn’t have to be the end though. He hopes that by drawing attention to the issue, some of the problems can be addressed and new citizens will be lured to Venice. “It might be the beginning; it could even spur a rebirth. Now we just have to create a Venice [people] will want to stay in. We have to give them a reason not to leave.”

[via Budget Travel]

Tourists in Venice urged to drink the water

by Katie Hammel on

Collecting the trash in Venice is no easy feat. After all, it’s not like a garbage truck can just drive down the street – there aren’t any. Garbage is collected by workers with wheelbarrows and then loaded onto barges and costs about $335 million per ton to remove (compared to $84 million per ton on the mainland of Italy).

In an effort to reduce these costs, the Venetian government is asking locals and tourists to drink water from the tap instead of buying plastic bottles. The city’s tap water meets the highest purity standards, but many people are still buying bottled water from stores and in restaurants. To help promote the tap water, officials have started calling it “Acqua Veritas” and selling glass bottles labeled as such. The hope is that the fancy bottles will encourage people people to drink from the tap, reducing trash and the cost to remove it from the island.

With tourists outnumbering locals 100 to 1, visitors to Venice may have the greatest impact on the trash situation. So when in Venice, forgo the plastic and drink from the tap instead.

Kayaking Venice

by Kraig Becker on

Venice, Italy is one of the most popular and romantic cities in all of Europe. Famously built on a series of small islands along the Venetian Lagoon, just off the Adriatic Sea, travelers flock to the city to stroll its floating walkways and take gondola rides through the watery streets.

This is the typical way that tourists explore the city, which has a rich and varied history dating back 1500 years. But a recent article from the British newspaper The Guardian suggests a different way to see the sights in Venice, namely from the cockpit of a kayak. This alternative approach to exploring the Italian city’s waterways offers more freedom and flexibility for paddling where ever you want to go, and allows you to visit parts of the city that you might not normally see.

Adventurous travelers may take to the water on their own, and kayak throughout the city, but The Guardian recommends that you go with a guide service which can help you navigate the maze of water ways and lead you to the top destinations in Venice. You’ll find tours lasting a few hours or a few days, depending on what you’re looking for, and you’ll be able to do it at a fraction of the cost of a gondola ride. Piloting your own kayak also allows you to linger in the top spots for photo opportunities and to take in more of the flavor of the city, something you can’t do as easily in the traditional approaches to exploring the place.

Obviously kayaking through Venice isn’t for everyone, but for those looking for a different perspective on the historical city, it is a fun, active, and adventurous alternative.

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Sept. 11-Sept. 18

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you noticed that Monday was Weird America at Gadling. Granted, it may seem that many days are weird at Gadling, but Monday’s post centered on the odd and unusual. Caves, squirrels, monsters, ghosts, mysterious structures, Superman, leaping postmen and a gigantic tire were part of the mix.

But that’s not all that showed up in our offerings. These are some you may have missed in the line-up.

  • In the middle of August, when my son, daughter and I became part of the masses that were visiting Venice, I wondered if anyone actually lived there. It was hard to tell. Katie’s post tells about one possible solution to the crush. Ban day-trippers.
  • If you’ve ever wondered what happens to planes once they’ve outlived their use, Scott has proof on one answer. Planes with the Mojave Desert make an interesting visual mix.
  • Reading Tom’s post on the reopening of the Sanctuary Swala in Tanzania is one way to develop travel envy. Although a stay there is not cheap, there are deals that can make a stay there within reach. Besides, wouldn’t this be a stay of a lifetime?
  • Although it may be too late to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival this year since it’s happening this weekend, this festival is one to put on next year’s calendar. Brenda details what makes the longest running jazz festival in the world so outstanding.
  • Here’s an event I’d love to attend. Jeremy gave a heads up to one of the most creative festival ideas. At the Sydney International Food Festival in October, each participating country’s flag will be represented by food in a way that also represents that country. How cool is that?

Here’s to hoping you’re having an outstanding weekend no matter where you are and what’s on your agenda.

Overcrowded Venice may ban day-trippers

by Katie Hammel on

There’s no question that Venice is a city overrun with tourists. 20 million people visit the sinking city each year, yet only 60,000 Italians call Venice home. It’s no wonder then that the city starts to feel more like an open-air museum, a well-preserved relic of the past, rather than a living, and lived-in, city.

The residents of Venice put up with a lot (though or course, many of them profit greatly from the massive tourism industry too), and many are fed up with the overwhelming crush of tourists that descend on the town each year. And they aren’t above fighting back. Last year, the city created a (short-lived) locals-only vaporetto line from the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco. Technically, anyone with a 3-year Carta Venezia pass could ride, but at 40 Euros each, most visitors wouldn’t buy one.

The latest tactic in the battle of locals vs. tourists is to ban day-trippers. Only about 30% of Venice’s annual visitors stay there overnight. The rest stay outside the city, stop by on their way to or from other destinations, or come for the day by cruise ship. The proposal would limit visitors to the city to those people who have a pre-booked hotel reservation.

Enrico Mingardi, the head of public transportation in Venice, is the mastermind of the proposal. He says that Venetians can “no longer tolerate the discomforts” caused by the influx of thousands of tourists each day. He didn’t say exactly how the system would work, what rules would apply to cruise ship visitors, and if those without proof of hotel reservations would be locked out of the city.

Proposals that would limit the number of Venice’s tourists have been brought up before, but always defeated. If the policy does take effect, I have a feeling Venice will feel even more like a historical theme park. What’s next – turnstiles and a ticket window?