The “funeral” for the city of Venice, which we wrote about on November 9th - "Funeral" to be held for Venice - took place on Saturday. A group of citizens escorted a pink cardboard coffin representing Venice along the Grand Canal to the Town Hall, where they broke it up and left the debris.
“We’re going to turn into a city of ghosts if something isn’t done soon” , said Matteo Secchi, a spokesman for the group, Venessia.
The population of Venice dropped to below 60,000 in October and, with tourists arriving at the rate of 55,000 per day, life in the city is becoming intolerable for residents, who find themselves in economic difficulties too.
However, the city authorities now estimate the population to be 60,025 and housing commissioner Maria Rumiz stated that the statistics quoted by Venessia do not take into account the number of people living on the islands around Venice.
She added that the “funeral” was:
“like a funeral for a father who is still alive, which in general brings a bit of bad luck.”
Do you agree with the protesters or the housing commissioner?
