FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE ‘SAN MARCO GUARDIANS’ PROJECT

The press conference organised by the Associazione Piazza San Marco was held today at 11.30 in the historic Caffè Florian in St Mark’s Square to mark the end of the ‘San Marco Guardians’ project. The president of the Association, Alberto Nardi, in the presence of the mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, city councillor Carla Rey and the director general of the Venice city council, Marco Agostini, recounted the story of the project and above all recalled its important aims: to ask locals and especially tourists to observe the city council ordinances and regulations and to respect the St Mark’s area and what it represents from a historical and monumental point of view. It is a demanding but very important task, as Mr Nardi noted, especially at certain times of the year such as Ferragosto (Feast of the Assumption, 15 August) when antisocial behaviour took place and rude responses were made, and carried out in effective synergy and cooperation with the local police. The valuable financial contribution made by Costa Crociere was fundamental in allowing this project to go ahead, and it is now being looked at with interest by other cities. The final opinion of the Association’s president, Mr Nardi, was certainly positive and there is optimism that the ‘San Marco Guardians’ project can be repeated next year, with suitable improvements. During the meeting Mr Nardi also dwelt on the need for appropriate signage in the St Mark’s area and advance information. The commander of the local police said that the project was very effective and helped them patrol the St Mark’s area; in general, there was more information for tourists in the square and it was thus cleaner and more orderly. The mayor of Venice, Mr Orsoni, thanked the Association on behalf of the city council for having set up the project, which was such an obvious success, and said that something similar could be repeated in other parts of the city, such as Campo Santa Margherita. Journalists addressed numerous questions to the leading figures in the project: the male and female ‘San Marco Guardians’ who worked during these months with great patience and charm to maintain decorum in the St Mark’s area. They recounted many activities, anecdotes and odd events to the journalists. All these aspects, along with the history of the project, have been collected into a dossier, which the Association gave out during the press conference and can be downloaded at the following address

http://www.lalli.biz/apsm/2012dossier.pdf