Happy birthday!

Best wishes to Associazione Piazza San Marco: a long history rich in content and successes that we would like to briefly report. Associazione Piazza San Marco (APSM) was founded on 1 July 1992, thanks to the initiative of a group of shopkeepers who wished to define the activities in St Mark’s Square. Enrico Bacci, owner of a Venetian specialities shop in the Square, was nominated chairman in 2004, giving the association a professional, articulate and organised touch. He was assisted by a young Alberto Nardi of Gioielleria Nardi, who then took over as chairman in 2007. Thanks to Nardi, the APSM opened up to the city with the aim of being a positive lobby for activities in the Square. Apart from safeguarding and protection operations, over the years the Association has been cultural and social promoter of activities aimed at residents, like the famous Ombra de Vin under the bell tower. There were then the many battles fought for decorum in the Square: from stopping the mega-concerts to the reporting of rampant illegal hawking. The common objective of all its members is to solve the problems in St Mark’s Square. In this perspective, the San Marco Guardian project was developed from 2010, engaging people able to greet visitors, offer information in several languages and point out their rights and responsibilities. Thanks to the success of this project, it has now been institutionalised by the city council. The Association has also worked over the years to gather information to be submitted to the city council: in 2013 the High Tide Dossier and the Illegal Hawking Dossier were produced, which were given plenty of attention by the local and national media. In 2014 the big label shops in Calle Vallaresso and Calle Larga XXII Marzo also joined the association. The specific weight of the Association thus increased, allowing it to undertake more ambitious projects. In 2015 the illuminations in the St Mark’s Area were organised for the first time and the Association became involved in more complex and artistic works, such as Poesie e Luci with the artist Nereo Rotelli, a representation of poetry through lights. The costs were met by the Association in partnership with the city council. In 2016 the Association once again proposed more classical but high quality illuminations, through agreements with Blachére Illumination. In 2017 Alberto Nardi retired, considering his operational moment over, and Claudio Vernier became the new chairman. The activities continue with the great enthusiasm, passion and active participation of the members.