‘Imagine living with this crap’: tempers in Venice boil over in tourist high season
As residents leave and visitor numbers soar, the city’s quality of life is being eroded. This summer, irate locals have taken to the streets
Emotions run high in Venice, the Italian island city that fascinates visitors even as it exasperates the dwindling band of local inhabitants.
Venice is still known as La Serenissima, the most serene, and was once a place where the population rubbed gracefully along with visitors made up mostly of intellectuals, writers and artists. It is difficult now to imagine that happy coexistence, when you wander through the intricate maze of alleys and waterways and speak to local people. Depopulation and mass tourism have long been causes of local despair. But this summer it feels as if a tipping point may not be far away.
Earlier this month an against a tourism industry they argue has eroded their quality of life, that is damaging
