Buongiorno Venezia

On 20 February, Shrove Tuesday, the Carnival ended with splendid fireworks over the S. Mark’s Basin. This was a record edition thanks, in part, to Spring-like temperatures, and the last week accounted for more than 600,000 visitors (870,000 for the entire Carnival period).

You wouldn’t believe it, venetians shopkeepers found the way to complain all the same. the 870,000 people did not spend enough money for their tastes.

Last week Venice hosted a day-long meeting about tourism and the Italian art towns — Florence, Naples, Rome, and Venice. The meeting was attended by the Minister of National Heritage and Culture, Francesco Rutelli and, obviously, the four cities’ mayors.
A dispute arose between the Minister and Venice’s mayor, Massimo Cacciari, who accused the Italian government of giving Venice too few financial resources because so much has already been allocated by the flood-prevention MOSE project that the town doesn’t want

oh oh.. this dispute is getting so absurd. can you imagine, being obliged to have a new — say — very expensive bathroom built in your own home, without your permission and with money which could have been yours? (maybe as yearly eternal contributions against acqua alta?)

but why don’t we break it into small pieces, merchandise it and get CASH for venice? :-)))

Last week, the current edition of the Carnival of Venice was officially presented by the mayor, Massimo Cacciari. The mayor, who didn’t neglect to reprimand Venetian businesses (merchants, hoteliers, restaurateurs) for the scant financial contribution they made to the event, said that the festival involved a great economic commitment by the local government. The objective: to ensure that Venetians and tourists experience a series of presentations equal to past years. “Carnevale è Venezia” (Carnival Is Venice), the title of this edition, will continue until Tuesday, 20 February with, according to the plan, the participation of 1,400 artists during the 220 hours of events. The expected number of attendees is 100,000 a day.

couldn’t choose a worst name for the campaign, if so.

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

Al Gore, former vice-president of the U.S. and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 2001, will be the special guest at the international climate and tidal change conference that will take place in Venice at the Doge’s Palace at the end of April. He will be a very welcome participant, whom Mayor Cacciari eagerly wanted to attend — in
the hope of attracting world interest in the event and of finding an ally in his campaign against MOSE, the system of movable underwater locks designed to prevent high tides in Venice. The mayor believes that the MOSE project is already obsolete.

But the government has already said yes to the MOSE, and millions and millions of euros have already been spent, since i do not even remember when: year 2000? the minister Antonio Di Pietro declared the MOSE was the only admittable project because other alternatives lack evidence of effectiveness. so, who is right?

More:

http://www.veniceword.com/mosesystem.html

http://www.veniceword.com/news/8/mose.html

http://www.veniceword.com/news/9/acqua.html

The municipality of Venice has joined the campaign against homophobia with a series of posters on the walls of the town. The posters ask citizens to overcome prejudice against gays, lesbians, and transgenders. The initiative began as the result of research done by a group of high school students that the municipality supported in collaboration with
the Council of Europe. “School is the place where a culture of tolerance and respect has to begin. I totally agree with this initiative,” Mayor Cacciari said. Venice is the first public administration in Italy to focus on the problem of *** discrimination.

well, cheers. the slogan says “don’t laugh if they kiss” or something like that. i have very little trust that such campaigns can be successful in a city such as venice, which has a strange relationship with such topics. it’s permissing in the spirit but very gossipy and puritan. it’s an island. consider it as a little town where everyone says everything of everyone (speaking of residents and workers, i mean). or pretends to know everything. people know nothing, of nothing. they don’t know reasons, they just see effects. and can easily be cheated by appearances, for good or worse..

The dream of Federico Bastianelli, a street cleaner in Falconara Marittima (a little town in the Marches region in the centre of Italy) came true at dawn on 6 January. Last September, he made a wish, hoping to be able to clean St. Mark’s Square, and the councillor responsible
for the environment granted it.

He declared he is so happy, after finishing his cleaning duty. and we can’t but be happy for this fantastic person who loves his job, is fully aware of its dignity, and just expressed the wish to work and be of help in the most beautiful city in the world. Un bacio, Federico

After a countless series of postponements, it appears that there are definitive dates for the installation of the Calatrava Bridge, the fourth bridge to cross the Grand Canal and link the railway station with Piazzale Roma (Venice’s terminus for vehicles)

You may wonder why we need a forth bridge over the grand canal. because the big palazzo near the train station of Santa Lucia (formerly owned but the Ferrovie dello Stato, the formerly national railwail transport company) was sold to the Benetton group. and they make a shopping center right there.