Venice for a fee is half convincing. The 5 euro ticket to access the historic centre, tested yesterday for the first time, has gathered support among tourists, especially Americans, but has also raised protests. The entrance fee, designed above all to slow down daily tourists, should stem the phenomenon of overtourism which on certain days actually makes Piazza San Marco and its surroundings unlivable. In the past there had been crusades against “backpackers”, who mistook Venice for a campsite and did not respect its decorum. Now, in digital times, we have moved on to apps and QR codes to manage the invasion of thousands of people in the lagoon.
Yesterday was the debut of the controversial measure: April 25th, the first day of the long holiday break that will include May 1st, proved to be an excellent “crash test”. From the first reactions there seem to have been more lights than shadows, so we will move forward. The experimentation will continue throughout 2024 in the 29 days marked with the “black mark” on the calendar.
The Municipality has deployed an army of inspectors and municipal police personnel, not only to check but also to explain to tourists, some of whom are unfavorable to the initiative, the route to enter the city with the ticket, necessary from 8.30 to 16.00. There were 113 thousand arrivals calculated on the day but only 15,700 tourists had to pay the 5 euros to obtain the pass. Just over one in 10, therefore. All the others could instead count on some exemptions, for example due to overnight stays in hotels (the tourist tax is enough). The crowd was created especially at the gazebo in front of the Santa Lucia station, the main landing point for “hit and run” holidaymakers.
“It’s fine like this,” however, many foreign guests commented. Holidaymakers arriving from the rest of the Veneto took it less well, as even though they don’t have to pay anything, they have to register on the app and receive the QR with the pass. However, the complaints come from other Italian tourists, who instead have to pay the tax. “It’s not fair to pay to enter Venice” someone snorted, while others struggled to accept wasting time in queues and then juggling with the electronic machines. Some foreigners complained about the lack of information: “If we had known we would have booked online.” However, not everything went smoothly: some true Venetians went so far as to invoke article 16 of the Constitution on freedom of movement.
The protest of the social centers took place in the nearby hub of Piazzale Roma: around 300 showed up, contesting the mayor Brugnaro and facing the police. The officers held their position by raising their shields: there was some pushing, but in a few minutes everything was resolved without excessive tension. The citizens of the committees and associations opposed to the ticket instead demonstrated at the QR code checkpoints, where they confronted the mayor Luigi Brugnaro. “Let’s talk about it” replied the mayor, who then explained his reasons. «We do it to leave the city to future generations. Something needs to be done and I’m trying. Nothing has ever been done to regulate tourism – insists the mayor – politicians don’t do it because they have no interest in doing so. I did it. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we have to do something, we can’t just talk.”
The request to put one’s hand in the wallet, the mayor underlined, was seen by the majority as a necessary sacrifice for the good of Venice. “The greatest satisfaction – observed Brugnaro – was seeing who approached the gates waving the access QR code: these people understood our intentions”.
