Buongiorno Venezia

One Venetian problem gets more and more… ingrained: the pigeons in St.Mark’s Square. Research by the Department of Environmental Sciences at Ca Foscari University in Venice has proved that the main cause of deterioration to the Square’s monuments is the hundreds of pounds of excrement that the pigeons produce every day. Every measure taken in
the past to control or reduce the pigeon population has been in vain, including the use of wheat as “contraceptive pill”. It now appears that the only viable solution is to forbid street vendors in the square from selling the grain, which also poses hazards to children and pets. It seems obvious, but current rules conflict with one another

There’s no way. It’s not only a conflict of rules. where i lived years ago in the cannaregio district (sestiere) in venice, a very old wowan used to feed pigeons by throwing bread out of the window. though it was (already) prohibited. results: not the whole palazzo got dirty, but also the palazzo in front of ours: because the birds knew her times of meals, and kept patiently waiting for her to show up. it was impossible for anyone to hang out clothes and sheets in the terrace without surveillance, because of the pigeons. kids were advised not to play there. we all complained. the lady’s daughter convinced the mother to stop. she did, for a few days. then she did it again, as hiddenly as she could. to summarize: after some years the lady died (no relation with the pigeons: she was 90!), and you wouldn’t believe it, the lady’s daughter herself began throwing at pigeons from the window. because “it’s always been like that”.

More:
http://www.veniceword.com/news/58/pigeons.html

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