Venice rebelling: Why we need “deep tourism” and not sightseeing
Venice does not want any more tourists. As a resident of a historical district in Boston — considered ancient in America — I understand. It is nice to drive around our narrow streets — built for horses — without having to worry about humongous tourist busses, and not to be gawked by short-wearing tourists with phones ready to snap photos at as you water your small front yard, chat with your friendly postman, or God forbid take your dog out for its daily constitutionals!
Thankfully, Boston’s population by far exceeds its visitors compared with Venice. Those poor souls have to contend with 5.5 million visitors with a population of less than 50,000 or roughly 1 resident per 110 tourists. In comparison, Boston with a population of 750,000, receives 24 million visitors, or 1 resident per 32 tourists. Most houses here, even in historic districts, are occupied by residents, and our harsh winters give us a four-month respite from tourists.
Are we doomed to turn all “famous sites” into Disney theme parks?
Fueled by lower-priced airfare and super-large cruise ships, tourism is up in most places this year. But let’s be honest. Do you, Ms. or Mr. Tourist, really want to be one of the 5.5 million competing for a table at a cheesy coffee shop serving overpriced watered-down espresso in Piazza San Marco? Or stand in line and fight with zillions of people to take a selfie in front of the Mona Lisa? Or pay to visit “Cheers’’ a bar that existed only in a TV sitcom decades ago?
Travel is not about sightseeing and checking bucket lists; it is about getting the feel of a foreign land. The magic of Italy is in its people, and way of life more than the beauty of its architecture and landscape. The Italian spirit lives far away from Venice, Rome, or Florence. It lives in Liguria and Calabria and Umbria. If you want architecture, leave Venice to see Padova and Verona. If you want natural beauty, drive away from Cinque Terre to a smaller town or village further up or down the coast.
To get the vibe in Italy, venture to any town square in time for “La Passeggiata”, or stop for Ice Cream in the late evening and watch kids play way past their bedtime with our standard, girls flirt and old folks chat. Rent a chair and an umbrella in a coastal working-class town outside Genoa and get some sun or drink a beer in a sports bar in a tiny town on a Sunday afternoon and watch a soccer match with town people. It will be smoky and loud. But that is the vibe, and you may even see a fistfight or two.
If you want to experience Da Vinci, walk away from the Mona Lisa to see Madonna of The Rocks in the next gallery. Better yet, go to Krakow instead of Paris, see the Lady with Ermine, and taste Polish hospitality at a fraction of the price.
A cruise ship with 3,000 people on board is going to take you nowhere authentic. You need to do your homework first, then take a chance and go somewhere new. Then take a chance on a lesser-known destination and stay longer. With GPS on your phone, you can let yourself be lost fearlessly.
But before you go, read books. Not the usual travel books, but the literature. And watch movies. If you like Italy, read Calvino, Moravia, Ecco, and Ferrante, and watch De Sica, Fellini, and Sergio Leone.
Learning a few words of language, Google Translate doesn’t always help, especially when people talk in a dialect. And study politics. With all the information available online, the work is not arduous, It can be fun and pays off. Some years ago, while traveling in Southwestern Turkey, we came across a magnificent almost intact abandoned Greek city an hour from Ephesus. Unlike Ephesus, no one was there. We paid the equivalent of $1 to get in — including parking — and spent hours exploring the theater, the temples, and the port now fully filled in with sand. We left as the dusk set and were treated to a most enchanting moment.
It doesn’t mean that Ephesus, Venice, or Mona Lisa are not worth seeing. They are, of course. But you need to ask yourself why and what you are willing to give up. If the aim is just to see something, high technology now allows you to see a very high quality of almost everything. But if you want to be transformed, you need to travel authentically. Savor the country, one glass of wine, one lick of gelato at a time.
As for Boston, we want you to come. After all, you pay ten percent of payroll in Boston and keep us employed. But please get off that ugly bus — or amphibian. Walk the Freedom Trail, stroll on Commonwealth Ave, take coffee on Charles Street — yes, we have good coffee —patronize a restaurant on the North end, and eat much more than baked beans. Or just sit by the Charles River and watch the sailboats on the river.
Just remember, most of us don’t drop our “r”s and Harvard University is in Cambridge, not Boston.
Happy Travels!
