Venice was really easy for me to romanticize last time I came here (for a whopping two days), but after really immersing myself in the people and environments that Venice has to offer these past couple weeks, I do see it more as it is. The realities of the collective distaste of tourists among natives is present in everything from the tourist-target crimes and scamming as well as simply the graffii on the walls of some building: “GO HOME TOURISTS”. As welcoming as I had previously described Sylvia, I believe she may be in the minority of Venetians who grew up here and don’t mind their home becoming a massive attraction. The sheer number of people visiting Venice everyday is truly absurd though and it only feeds their other issues of pollution and gentrification. Venice used to be an island where many artisans of things could be found and the marketplace at Rialto had much variety in the goods sold. Venice still has artists and craftsman, but in much lower numbers and the shops by Rialto are largely trinkets and souvenirs manufactured in China. Part of the beauty of Venice used to be the city’s commitment to thoughtfully creating items to be sold, not importing bad quality fridge magnets and shot glasses. This is a deeply said part about my trip to me: I feel like the tourists appreciate what they see, but they don't realize that their overwhelming presence has made some of the beauty in Venice dissipate.
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