Monthly Archives: October 2009

Death in Venice Venetians to Stage Their Own Funeral Venetians Say Dwindling Population,

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vista-su-canaleThe clock is ticking for Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as the city’s population slowly declines.
One of the most populated cities in the world in the 16th century, now the number of residents has dropped to under 60,000 and with an average of up to 150,000 tourists visiting each day Venetians are feeling outnumbered and fear they will soon be squeezed out. A Venetian community group even has plans to stage a funeral for Venice to provoke officials into saving the city.

This jewel of a city, with its romantic views of canals, bridges and gondolas, has enough problems surviving as it slowly sinks into the Venetian Lagoon. That problem always seems to be put off and never properly tackled.
Esteemed international experts somberly predict the city’s demise while Venetians wring their hands in despair. A few of these even envision apocalyptical scenes of the last few “real Venetians” caged on show in Piazza San Marco or of gates clanging shut at night after the straggling tourists on their day-passes exit the artistic wonderland.
Venice’s city hall sends out a continuous battle cry – “Stop the city from sinking! Stop the flooding! Stop the exodus of Venetians! Stop the old palazzi from crumbling! Stop the day trippers! Stop the rich foreigners buying up the palaces as investments! Stop the pigeons! Stop the beggars!” — as it tries to raise more funds to save Venice and preserve its artistic heritage while desperately keeping in step with modern times.

It launched a public Wi-Fi system in July and in a baffling move has just announced that the city will formally bid for the 2020 Olympics.

But some Venetians feel not enough is being done to save the dwindling population and have started to take action.

Andrea Morelli’s family has owned the pharmacy in campo San Bartolomeo which dates back to the 16th century in the heart of Venice for over a century. He has placed a “Venetian resident counter” in his shop window to get Venetians motivated.
The counter is updated regularly with the city’s official data of how many Venetians are resident in the city. Today the digital luminous counter shows 59,984; when it was installed in March 2008 it showed 60,704. “I feel a bit sad,” Morelli said, when he looks at the digital counter each day. “But I see it as something that should also stimulate us to do something. Venetians who come into the pharmacy always cast a glance at the figure and my shop has become a sort of forum, a place to come and debate about the future of Venice.”
Several leading community groups have formed recently to unite Venetians wishing to improve their city and are all fueled by active Web sites.

The idea of the digital resident counter was dreamed up by the Venessia.com supporters, an online group dedicated to protecting the “Venetian way of life.”

Launched by Stefano Soffiato nine years ago as his personal site where he commented on what he saw around him in Venice during his daily life, the site now gets up to 8,000 hits a day. It has spawned a forum with 900 Venetian citizens as members.

The group will meet in a bar this week to put the final touches on its latest enterprise: the staging of a funeral for Venice along the Grand Canal, complete with coffin, drums and funeral oration.

The water-convoy of boats will float down the Grand Canal from the station area, Piazzale Roma to the Rialto bridge where it will stop in front of the city hall. A gondola will dramatically lead the procession bearing a symbolic coffin painted in shocking pink fuchsia.

“I’ve made the coffin already – it’s my size!” says Stefano, laughing. He sounded amused as he explained, “I think we will be greeted by women wearing black. But we don’t want a sad event. We plan on being reborn after the funeral!”

“Yes of course it’s a provocation”, he admits, “but if we didn’t do this funeral or put the resident counter in the window nobody would notice that Venice is slowly declining as well as changing. If the Venetians leave Venice, Venice will disappear and all that will remain is a Disneyland.”
The hope is that the city council will be moved to take measures to stop the exodus and entice back the Venetians who have fled to the mainland.
We hope to arrive in front of the city hall and find hundreds of Venetians there waiting for us,” says Matteo Secchi, another Venessia.com member, “We want everyone to understand that behind the postcard of Venice – the gondola and the canals and all the romanticism – there is a decimated population. Venice is a special place.” “The socio-economic fabric of the city has been destroyed,” continues Secchi. “It has just become full of hotels, restaurants, and mask and glass shops. The politicians must put a stop to this. What they do is just special effects – new bridges and stuff like that – but they have forgotten the inhabitants of this place. In the last five years the city has not inaugurated one new residence for Venetians, there are 5,000 unrented houses in the city and 2,500 people on a list awaiting public housing.”

Venetians increasingly find their daily activities impeded by the throngs that visit each day.
“This is a truly pedestrian city and the beauty of any city is when one can walk about freely and admire its beauty,” says Soffiato. He remembers the Venice he grew up in: “We felt like the city belonged to us and I think the tourists felt special then; now we feel more like outsiders”.

Then again, says Soffiato, “all you have to do is avoid the ‘off limits’ areas around the tourist attractions like St. Marks square, and step into a small alley along a canal to see the old people in the streets and the children playing safely. That Venice still exists!”

Morelli says city administrators haven’t done enough for the city. He thinks more should be done to target “real culture” and dreams of a real living university campus in Venice that would attract young people to live here and “who knows, maybe become Venetian citizens one day!” But he sighs when he admits that most students couldn’t afford to live in Venice today even if they could find a place.

Strangely, many Venetians are not totally opposed to the idea of bringing something as huge and disruptive such as the Olympics to Venice. “If it brought funds and modern structures to Venice and helped us with our transport system, which is one of our biggest problems, it could do a lot for this city,” says Morelli. The city council insists it is doing what it can with the reduced funds at its disposal.
The negative demographic balance is mainly because the number of people who die is greater than the births, the city council says. And the city is trying to coordinate tourist flows to stop Venice from being overrun on certain days. This January they inaugurated www.veniceconnected.com, an online booking site, aimed at helping visitors get discounts if they plan their holiday in advance.

When the number of Venice residents slipped under the 60,000 mark last week, the mayor, Massimo Cacciari, seemed unconcerned. “So what’s new?” he exclaimed, “There’s no difference between 60,000 inhabitants and 59,999.”

But many Venetians say that there is, and are rallying to do something about it.

source abcnews.go.com

Zanardi wins the Venice Marathon.

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zanardi-bikeZanardi takes another step towards London 2012 with victory in Venice
Sunday, 25 October 2009

October 25 – Former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi has today taken another step on his dream to competing in the London 2012 Paralympics by winning the Venice Marathon.

The 42-year-old Italian, who had both legs amputated following a Champ Car crash at the Lausitzring in 2001, crossed the line first in the hand-cycling section in 1 hour 13min 56sec.

It was his first victory since taking up the sport two years ago.

Zanardi, who lives close to Venice, had to overcome technical difficulties to win.

He said: “I was hoping for a lot from this race.

“My chain came off three times but I never lost heart, even if I did have to drive like a madman.”

Zanardi, who finished 14th in the individual time trial at the Para-Cycling Road World Championship in Italy in September, is now targeting the 2012 Paralympics.

source insidetgegames.biz

Buy Apartment on Venice

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palazzo-veniceWO-BATH APARTMENT WITH CANAL VIEWS

Dave Yoder for The New York Times
This 120-square-meter (1,290-square-foot) home is in a pink stucco palazzo built in the 17th century. More Photos »
1.349 MILLION EUROS ($1.98 MILLION)

This 120-square-meter (1,290-square-foot) home is in a pink stucco palazzo built in the 17th century. The apartment is a piano nobile, which means it’s on the palazzo’s second floor, and has ceilings 4.2 meters (13.8 feet) high. Off the living room, a 1.5-by-4.5-meter (5-by-15-foot) balcony with a stone balustrade has scenic canal views. The doors leading out to the balcony are original and date to the 19th century; they were restored with hand-blown glass panes.

A renovation in 1992 revealed an original fresco of a lagoon nature scene in the master bedroom. The living room has 70 square meters (about 750 square feet) of space, as well as marble floors, beamed ceilings and decorative ornamental plaster. Overlooking the living area, an open loft area accessible by a flight of stairs is currently used as a meditation space. The dining area is in a sunken alcove off the living area.

The galley-style kitchen has lacquer cabinets; a guest bath has green marble floors and counters, as well as white marble walls inset with colored glass.

The master bedroom has a French marble decorative fireplace and a frescoed ceiling that depicts a mythological scene, as well as the recently discovered partial wall fresco; the master bathtub is encased in mahogany veneer. The second bedroom has an original Venetian stone decorative fireplace, as well as a loft area currently used as an office.

Buyers will have exclusive use of the internal courtyard, which is approximately 100 square meters (about 1,100 square feet), as well as an approximately 47-square-meter (500-square-foot) unfinished two-room studio and a 10-square-meter (110-square-foot) storage room.

The flat is in the residential neighborhood of Cannaregio, which has many boutiques and restaurants. The Grand Canal is a five-minute walk; Piazza San Marco is about 25 minutes. The airport is 25 minutes by boat.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Bolstered about three years ago by changes in local laws that eased restrictions on renovating and renting historic buildings, Venice’s property market was “very buoyant” from the beginning of the decade through last year, according to Ann-Marie Doyle, director of Venice Sothebys Realty.

Previously, homes in Venice were predominantly bought and sold by locals. In general it was common for families not to sell their properties, but to pass them on from generation to generation.

“Traditionally, for Italians, selling a property was a sign of financial weakness,” said Rupert Fawcett, head of the Italian Department at the real estate research company Knight Frank. “Attitudes are certainly changing. The result is that more properties have come onto the market.”

Since 2001, prices have climbed 100 percent for new construction south of the city, and up to 150 percent for premium properties on the Grand Canal, said Serena Bombassei, director of Venice Real Estate.

Today, prices vary widely. At the low end, studios and one-bedroom condos in Giudecca, a neighborhood filled with new construction and conversions south of the center, start at 250,000 to 300,000 euros ($368,000 to $441,000), Mr. Fawcett said. At the high end, an entire building overlooking the Grand Canal — such buildings are rare — can run as much as 20 or 30 million euros ($29 million to $44 million), he added, while a “standard-sized” 100-square-meter (1,100 square foot) two-bedroom in most areas, including the apartment featured here, typically ranges from 750,000 to 2 million euros ($1.1 million to $2.9 million). Although the economic slowdown has ended the market’s upward trend, housing prices have remained relatively stable. What has changed, according to Mr. Fawcett, is that there is now more room for negotiation, with accepted sales prices down approximately 10 percent from asking prices. “There always has been and will be a supply issue in Venice,” he said. “There’s only so much land, and there’s no new land to claim and build on.”

WHO BUYS IN VENICE

The property market in Venice is expensive and draws a very international crowd, according to Ms. Doyle. The number of British and American buyers has dwindled since the economic downturn, Ms. Bombassei said, but at the moment there are many French and Russian buyers, as well as Italians from other cities.

BUYING BASICS

There are no restrictions on foreign property purchases in Venice. Closing costs are based upon the cadastral value — the property’s value according to the public record — which is often considerably less than the sale price, according to Ms. Doyle.

Second-home buyers pay either a 7 percent registry tax or a 10 percent value-added tax (if purchasing new construction); there is also a 2 percent mortgage fee, if applicable, and a 1 percent land registry fee, Ms. Doyle added.

Buyers who declare their home as a primary residence pay either a 3 percent registry tax or a 4 percent value-added tax on new construction, plus 168 euros ($247) for a mortgage fee, where applicable, and 168 euros ($247) for a land registry fee.

The use of a notary is required; fees are 1.5 to 2.5 percent of the purchase price, according to Ms. Doyle. Lawyer’s fees are 3 to 4 percent of the purchase price, she added; real estate agent fees, paid by the buyer, are typically 2 to 3 percent.

USEFUL WEB SITES

Italian tourism board: www.italiantourism.com/

City guide: www.invenicetoday.com/

source nytimes.com

Venice replacing historic lagoon poles

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venice-5Venice considers replacing historic lagoon poles
Looming out of the swirling mist thousands of wooden stakes which dot Venice’s lagoon present an unforgettable sight to the first time visitor.

By Nick Squires in Rome

The authorities in Venice are looking at installing plastic poles, made out of recycled waste, which they say last much longer and cost less to maintain than their wooden equivalents Photo: GETTY
Boats and ferries snake between the treacherous sandbanks and shoals thanks to them, but the poles, which are a key component of the city’s traditional image along with gondolas and St Mark’s Square, could now be replaced.
The authorities in Venice are looking at installing plastic poles, made out of recycled waste, which they say last much longer and cost less to maintain than their wooden equivalents.

Critics of the move say it will bring to an end centuries of heritage and that the plastic poles will be much less picturesque than the old, barnacle-clad timber ones, of which there are estimated to be nearly 100,000.
It is the latest chapter in the decades-old saga over how to reconcile the history and heritage of one of the world’s most beautiful cities with the practicalities of day-to-day life.
The idea of introducing the plastic poles has been put forward by Venice’s city council, which says that in an average year it has to replace at least 150 posts at a cost of 400,000 euros (£362,000).
“We have hundreds of wooden poles which are rotting away, there are entire forests of them,” said Mara Rumiz, the city official in charge of public works.
But the provincial government is opposed to the idea and says the plastic poles are more suited to the sort of pastiche, theme park versions of Venice that have sprouted in places like Dubai, China and the US.
“Visitors will have the impression of a plastic Venice, not dissimilar to the one which exists in Las Vegas,” Francesca Zaccariotto, the president of the province of Venice, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Historically the Most Serene Republic of Venice, which was an independent state for more than 1,000 years, imposed the death penalty on anyone who planted navigation poles without permission, she claimed.
“So the administrators of Venice Council, who today want to replace the traditional wooden poles with industrially manufactured plastic ones, are lucky to live in the modern age instead of back then,” she joked.
Timber merchants who supply the city are anxious that they will lose their livelihoods and say that instead of introducing plastic poles, Venice should introduce stakes made of more durable types of wood.
“From the tropics to the Caribbean, people use wood that is resistant to parasites. It’s natural and it costs 30 per cent less than plastic poles,” said Alessandro Calcaterra, the owner of a local timber firm, Northern Wood.
The neighbouring region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia recently bought 10,000 hard-wearing wooden stakes to replace deteriorating chestnut poles, said Pietro Pizzardi, a contractor who specialises in the building of marinas and ports.
Hardwoods from South American countries like Guyana were particularly long-lasting, he said. “If nature has offered us a natural product, which costs less than a plastic pole, what’s the sense in using a synthetic product?”
The plastic poles are not the only threat to the integrity and long-term survival of “La Serenissima”.
The population has halved in the past 40 years, from 120,000 in 1966 to 60,000, making the impact of the annual influx of 20 million tourists all the more overwhelming.
Rising sea levels, more frequent storms and the sinking of the lagoon bed threaten to submerge Venice beneath the waves.
There is an impassioned debate about whether the World Heritage Site’s dwindling number of residents can withstand the onslaught of mass tourism, or whether the city is destined to become a cultural Disneyland in which normal life is all but impossible.
source telegraph.co.uk