Published on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 by Kathy McCabe Venice is gearing up to celebrate Tintoretto’s 500th birthday all year, with the main event on Sept. 7. The painter, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti, was born in Venice in 1518, though his exact birthdate is unknown. The months-long celebration will include special events around the city in honor of the artist and his paintings, which can be seen in several Venet...

Published on Saturday, November 25, 2017 by Kathy McCabe After years of protests by locals against cruise ships in Venice, the city has decided that in four years, cruise ships weighing 96,000 tons will no longer be able to drop anchor in St. Mark’s Basin in Venice. They will instead have to keep at a distance from the city, landing on the mainland in Marghera, where the Venice airport is also located. A committee of loca...

Published on Friday, October 13, 2017 by Kathy McCabe In 2020, for the first time in 500 years, visitors to Venice will be able to tour one of its grandest and most important buildings. The Procuratie Vecchia housed the nine governors of La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic, in the centuries of its greatest power, from its construction in 1532 onward. Making up one side of famed St. Mark’s Square, the Procuratie...

Published on Monday, September 25, 2017 by Kathy McCabe With  increasing restrictions across Italian cities aimed at curbing tourists’ unruly behavior, Venice and Florence have both launched campaigns to accomplish that goal, called #EnjoyRespectVenezia and #EnjoyRespectFirenze, respectively. The message, sent through fines and increased awareness, is common sense: Respect the city, its history, its art and its resident...

Published on Monday, June 5, 2017 by Kathy McCabe In its latest effort to curtail the crush of tourists that descends upon Venice, the city is considering charging an entry fee to visit St. Mark’s Square. The city will begin by rolling out a system to count the number of visitors in the historic city center at a given point in time and display the numbers on social media in real time, hoping to deter guests from ad...

Published on Sunday, May 21, 2017 by Kathy McCabe After hanging in churches on the island of Murano in Venice for centuries, two paintings by Venetian Renaissance master Paolo Veronese headed across the lagoon and are now on display at the Venice Biennale. The paintings, Saint Jerome in the Desert and Saint Agatha Visited in Prison by Saint Peter, are newly restored, correcting previous poor attempts at restoring t...

Published on Friday, May 5, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Next year, Venice’s Royal Gardens will receive a makeover funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture and insurance company Generali, which will each take on half of the 5€ million project cost. Once a site of “ancient splendour and significance” – according to Adele Re Rebaudengo, president of the nonprofit Venice Gardens Foundation – the gardens are no...

Published on Saturday, November 26, 2016 by Kathy McCabe In response to overcrowding and concerns about the state of the historic city, Venice is considering limiting the number of tourists allowed per year. Venetian officials are considering seven possible plans to reduce overcrowding and preserve the city, including implementing an online booking system and using a smartphone app to control crowds, and are expected to dec...

Published on Saturday, July 23, 2016 by Kathy McCabe Venice launched a new program to employ a group of people to welcome tourists and keep St. Mark’s Square clean and orderly, calling them the St. Mark’s Guardians. Among their duties are making sure visitors feel welcome and educating tourists on how to keep the lagoon clean and what behaviors to adhere to while in Venice. “Hostesses and stewards, who will be ...

Published on Sunday, June 26, 2016 by Kathy McCabe Much of Venice was  underwater last week as an out-of-season acqua alta, or high water, takes hold. The tidal flooding causes the Adriatic Sea to overflow into the streets of Venice, this time covering St. Mark’s Square and other parts of the city with one meter (3.3 feet) of water and undoubtedly creating a nuisance for tourists stuck without rain boots. During...