On Monday, UNESCO recommended Venice be added to its endangered list due to over- tourism and other issues, and the famous Rialto Bridge was packed with tourists.
The throngs of tourists appeared blissfully unaware of the potential downgrade UNESCO claimed was caused by the possibility of "irreversible" harm as they snapped photographs, licked gelato, and pushed bags.
Ashley Park, a 28-year-old visitor from New York, claimed that while she was aware of the crowds in Venice, they weren't hurting her trip.
Of course, it wouldn't be pleasant if we lived here with all these tourists, she said.
Diego Nechifrovo, a 23-year-old city worker wearing a #EnjoyRespectVenezia T-shirt, was observing the crowds on the iconic bridge while on the lookout for unruly tourists.
He noticed a bag of potato chips left on the door of a jewelry store and commented, "Sometimes I see someone throwing away his cigarette or going around without a T-shirt.
is the worst? A family once "started to set up a picnic right in front of the Doge's Palace."
Recently, an inattentive tourist fell into the river, according to Nechifrovo. He was attempting to take a quality picture.
A watercolor artist selling his work nearby has a sign pointing to St. Mark's Square on his stand.
The native Venetian, Claudio, who declined to offer his last name, remarked, "That's all they want to know." They visit Venice since it is Venice. That's it.
He claimed that the days of educated tourists enjoying the city's numerous churches and museums were long gone.
"Those who arrive right now have no idea what a museum is. He argued that it wasn't cultural tourism.
They should go to the mountains or the beach, not here, he moaned. "Plz stop coming anymore!"
The problems facing Venice are numerous, ranging from environmental degradation of its lagoon to the exodus of its residents—there are currently just 50,000 left—leaving what many critics claim is now a soulless city.
Two years ago, Venice narrowly escaped being added to the same UNESCO list after the city put a ban on enormous cruise ships passing the center. The list is meant to inspire countries to take action to conserve locations considered to be of "universal value to humanity."
Environmental organizations claimed that the ships' proximity to the beach and thousands of day-trippers would produce enormous waves that would erode Venice's foundation and ruin the
But the issue of tourism itself was not addressed by diverting the ships to the further away industrial port of Marghera.
According to official figures, 3.2 million visitors spent the night in Venice's historic district last year; this figure does not account for the thousands of daytime visitors.
American visitor Mike McWilliams, 53, who had just arrived in the city for a two-day trip with his family, said, "It's pretty beautiful - it's a draw!"
The cultural arm of the United Nations, UNESCO, included Venice in its list of world-historic sites in 1987 as an "extraordinary architectural masterpiece," but it has since issued a statement urging for "more sustainable tourism management."
On Monday, it claimed that there had been inadequate progress and cited "a lack of overall joint strategic vision" on the part of the authorities.
Measures to control tourism have drawn criticism for being too late and ineffectual.
A long-discussed proposal to implement a paid booking system for day-trippers has been repeatedly delayed and is currently scheduled to do so until 2024, due to worries that it will severely harm tourism earnings and restrict freedom of movement.
Back in St. Mark's Square, Lorenzo Seano, a 21-year-old city worker, was battling to prevent tourists from sitting on the steps of the nearby arcades.
Seano claimed that the issue of too many visitors overrunning cities extended well beyond Venice, but no one in government had made an effort to address it "on a structural level."
After all, a ton of money was flowing in, he explained.
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