THE UNDERSECRETARY OF THE ECONOMY PIER PAOLO BARETTA: BUY A TICKET TO GO INTO ST MARK’S SQUARE

The various proposals to control the increasingly invasive tourism in the city, and especially the St Mark’s area, now include that of the undersecretary Pier Paolo Baretta (photo). He has suggested making tourists pay for a ticket to go into the area between the Ponte della Paglia and Calle Vallaresso. According to Baretta, St Mark’s Square and its surrounds are a genuine open-air museum so it is right to pay for a ticket to visit it. With a careful check on access it would be possible to regulate the number of tourists, increase income to swell the city council’s empty coffers and block the proliferation of illegal traders and do-it-yourself picnics in St Mark’s Square, he adds. Such a proposal should make the world appreciate how precious Venice - part of Unesco’s world heritage - is, and that it must therefore also be protected from mass tourism. The proposal is arousing arguments and has sparked off various discussions on social networks.