Federico SUTERA

Venice historical centre has seen its number of residents dropping below 55,000. The city is losing about 1,000 residents per year: the number of Venetians decreases in relation with the rising number of tourists. People and activities that are not working in the tourism industry - see it like a one-crop economy - are being pushed out of the city to give more room to mass tourism simulacra and to 27 millions of visitors per year (75% of which are day trippers). Venice can’t handle these flows and these numbers anymore, otherwise its “real”city status will end and, at the same time, it will lose the touristic appeal itself.As a Venetian citizen, I am concerned about my city’s destiny and I ask myself a lot of questions. With this photographic project, that I have titled “Venice for sale”, I want to highlight the problems that mass tourism has
caused to my city, its side effects on the social and urban field. Therefore, to prevent Venice from “sinking”, it is necessary to have a sustainable policy
managing the tourism, with a focus on quality and not quantity. Considering that even Venice most frequent visitors, those who return to the city quite often, can hardly recognize it, and that even everyone who loves and respects this city is pushed away from the tangible effects of mass tourism, what kind of future is waiting for Venice and its inhabitants?