Exploring Globalized Scenarios: The Case of Two Organizations in Venice, VeniSIA and Venywhere, that Aim at Contrasting Through Remote Work the Depopulation of Its Historic Centre

Abstract

Although Venice has always been a popular tourist destination, the phenomenon has increased strongly in recent decades, leading to numerous protests from locals. Along with the increase in daily visitors, there have been a series of difficulties for citizens, from overcrowded public transport to the proliferation of souvenir shops, restaurants, and hotels. Many public properties have been sold by the Municipality itself to ensure their preservation in the face of high maintenance costs. Museums, palaces, and sometimes entire islands have been sold to private investors, often foreigners, who have turned them into tourist facilities, taking advantage of the city's fame. Venice in fact attracts between 12 and 20 million visitors every year, increasing year by year. But while the number of tourists rises, the number of inhabitants (of the historic centre) falls. On the 21st of March 2008, a historic pharmacy in the centre exposed a counter in the shop window that marks the number of citizens in real time: on that day it read 60,699 people. At the end of 2021, the number recorded was 50,434. To face the exodus of residents, the only measures taken by the Municipality concerned the regulation of tourist flows, with little if any results. The recent introduction of a reservation ticket to enter the city is only the latest of many measures with little use. In the last year, however, new organizations not linked to the Municipality were born with the ultimate aim of repopulating the historic centre by attracting a new class of residents. VeniSIA and Venywhere – the two organizations analysed in this study – want to exploit new technologies to create a new form of residency that may also have a positive impact on the lives of other inhabitants. Like overtourism, their existence can be defined as a 'side effect' of globalization. This study aims to find out whether the measures offered by these two organizations can really be effective in slowing down the exodus of residents and in what way. Should they prove successful, they would set an example that other cities suffering from overtourism could take inspiration from