Venice is Sinking Under the Weight of Tourists
Venice. The beauty of the Queen of the Adriatic. Taking in a walk that took in the Santa Maria della Salute and San Giorgio Romano along la Giudecca. I managed to count 97 backpackers who were, as I believe the ghastly phrase is, “doing the Academia”.
Tourists! I thought to myself, they’re taking away our Venice! Venice is being taken from us! The place is crawling with Germans, Australians and Italians! Venice is sinking under their weight.
Not just the physical beauty but the grandeur of Venice is sinking under the weight of their wind-cheaters and Coca-Cola cans. Every image is now a photo cliché!
Most of the backpackers emanating that awful tinny sound of their personal stereophonic discotheques. Those vile white chords permanently plugged into their ears.
It may be harsh, perhaps even cruel. One might even say it’s very deglante but tourists should be banned from Venice. It’s just not Venice! Not by a very long stroke!
The whole world is being stained and it’s all the fault of television.
(Entry written with due deference to Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie)
