Venice, February 16, 2026
The photo shows St. Mark's Square on Carnival Sunday
Venice is unique—and expensive to maintain. While the media almost exclusively rail against mass tourism, a far more complex question arises on the ground: Who should finance the upkeep of these centuries-old buildings, if not the visitors? A call for an objective debate.
It’s incredibly easy to pass judgment on mass tourism in Venice. The headlines have been the same for years: overcrowded alleys, annoyed residents, cruise ships. But the reality behind the picture-perfect postcard scene is economically brutal. Every tourist who visits the lagoon city brings capital with them. And without this capital, the „miracle of Venice“ would have long since been left to decay.
The Illusion of the Empty City
Of course, in theory, the influx could be limited. One could cancel the carnival, scrap the Biennale, or shut down the film festival. The result? Millions fewer visitors—but also a hole in the city’s coffers that nothing could fill. Interestingly, it’s not the traditional festivals like the Voga Longa, the Festa del Redentore or the Historical Regatta, which draw large crowds. These events foster a sense of identity, yet are often only peripherally noticed by the tourists who are already there. The root of the problem lies deeper.
A Renovation Project Like No Other
Venice is not a museum made of stone, but a city built on millions of wooden piles that were driven into the mud of the lagoon over a thousand years ago. While in other European cities a house that is 100 years old is considered old, here we’re talking about buildings, some of which have stood for a millennium.
Preserving this architecture requires a financial investment that is incomparable to that of ordinary urban development. Neither the Italian government nor the EU can shoulder these costs alone. This raises an uncomfortable question: Why should historic buildings be renovated at a cost of billions if, at the same time, public access to them is severely restricted?
Crowding-out Effects in Visitor Patterns
One dangerous path would be to create an elite: raising hotel and restaurant prices so high that Venice would be reserved only for the world's wealthiest. That cannot be the solution.
Another interesting observation regarding the cityscape is this: While visitor numbers are stagnating in countries whose media systematically „warn“ against visiting Venice, this gap is immediately filled by travelers from nations where this debate does not exist. With eight billion people worldwide, the desire to see Venice at least once in a lifetime remains undiminished. Complaining alone does little to change this global dynamic.
Poor planning 1,000 years ago?
If you want to blame anyone, perhaps it’s the urban planners of the Middle Ages. They couldn’t have foreseen that the narrow calli—where barely three people can walk side by side—would one day have to handle streams of millions of people. Even the main thoroughfares between St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto or the Accademia Bridge are bottlenecks. If a visitor stops in front of a store window, a traffic jam ensues. This is due to the city’s layout and not any ill will on the part of city officials.
Spotlight on St. Mark's Square: A Local Paradox
The image of a crowded St. Mark’s Square during Carnival weekend is often cited as evidence of the city’s decline. But for Venetians’ everyday lives, this is largely irrelevant. There are no ordinary apartments, no doctors’ offices, and no stores selling everyday necessities on St. Mark’s Square.
It’s the same as in other major cities: People in Munich don’t go to the glockenspiel at Marienplatz every day, people in Berlin avoid the Brandenburg Gate in their daily lives, and people in Hamburg rarely stand in awe at the harbor. These places belong to the visitors—and that’s perfectly fine, as long as the rest of the city is kept alive by the revenue they generate.
Venice doesn't need blanket criticism, but rather smart, feasible solutions. Because one thing is certain: Complaining alone has never restored a foundation.
Bernd Morgenthaler, an expert on Venice.
Owner and operator of Venedig.com since 1998.
With 40 years of experience in communicating complex topics, my focus today is on providing accurate, accessible information for all visitors to Venice and sharing positive news from the lagoon city.
