Singing Italian guy riding in a Gondola in Venice

This is from when I went to Venice. Its an Italian dude singing in a Gondola. What an awesome place. I hope this vid encourages people to visit Venice.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Venice
• Italy
• Europe
• Gondola
• Singing
• Italian
• Gondolier

[amoEma]

That's just great... It drives me up the wall, there are so many great Venetian songs that are being forgotten, and these buffoons have to resort to cheapening our beautiful city just to milk the poor tourists. I'm from Venice, and I am disgusted at the Disneyfication of my hometown.

Please, do come visit this beautiful city, help keep it a lively and unique place to live, not just a tourist attraction.

[pabloMK]

lol. funiculi' funicula',is the tipical Naples song.

[kimmaeztar]

some of those gondola guys were really hot when i went to venice. (:

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc Sorry, my comment below turned out really long... But I really believe in this stuff. :) Read on... and PM me if you'd like.

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc Well, I can't speak much for other Italian cities, but from what I've seen this phenomenon is much more intense in Venice (due to its uniqueness). The vicious cycle goes somewhat like this:

(continued)

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc

(continued)

--> Large flow of tourists

--> Less "smart" tourism (meaning people who actually try and learn something, rather than just take a few pictures, buy a few souvenirs, eat some fast food and then complain that they're bored)

--> More businesses sell out to cater to the "typical" tourist (in my opinion, this is where the real problem lies!)

(continued)

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc (continued)

--> Fewer services, higher prices for people who live here

--> Venetians are forced to move away because the price of living is too high

--> Fewer inhabitants means more space for tourist traps

--> Tourist are not encouraged to be "smart" (fast-food tourism is much more profitable!)

... and so on.

The really shameful thing is the entrepreneurs in Venice shamelessly selling out and milking (and often scalping, unfortunately) mass tourism as much as they can.

(continued)

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc (continued)

Can you believe that I often encounter tourists who are genuinely surprised that people actually live in Venice? This is what I mean by Disneyfication: turning the city into a theme-park-style ghost town. And the bulk of the blame goes to those who are making a huge profit from it.

What you, as a tourist, can do to help keep Venice alive, is be "smart":

(continued)

[amoEma]

@LeiraZetroc (continued)

- Read up a little ahead of time, even if it's just off Wikipedia!

- Try and avoid obvious tourist-traps, if at all possible

- Buy a map and go off the beaten track a little, if you have time. Getting lost is half the fun!

- Ask a Venetian! Easier said than done, I know, we come across as really grumpy... :)

Please do come visit. I hope you enjoy the magic of this beautiful city... PM me if you want to chat!

Cheers

[LeiraZetroc]

@amoEma How has Italy been Disney-fied? I really am curious to know as I am travelling to Venice and Rome this Spring.