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Floods and coronavirus leave legendary Venice cafe facing ruin

Caffè Florian, the oldest watering hole in Venice and a mecca for writers, artists and politicians, had hoped to spend December planning its 300th birthday party - but instead faces ruin.

Published: 19 December 2020 11:59 CET

Floods and coronavirus leave legendary Venice cafe facing ruin

Caffe Florian on St Mark's Square is a Venetian institution. Photo: Andrea Pattaro/AFP

The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world-famous Italian city into a ghost town and, following on from last year's floods, left the popular cafe on St Mark's Square in dire straits.

“We will stay open for as long as we can, but we can do not more than that,” managing director Marco Paolini told reporters on Friday, in a public appeal for government help.

“Venice is on its knees,” he said, and “the activity of the Florian has been devastated”.

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Founded on December 29th 1720 by Floriano Francesconi, the cafe's clients have included everyone from Wagner and Proust to Nietzsche, Charlie Chaplin and Andy Warhol.

These days it employs around 80 people, including the multilingual and always impeccably dressed waiters in their white tails.

Photo: Andrea Pattaro/AFP

“We wanted to organise a big cultural event to celebrate our 300th anniversary, but it was cancelled,” Paolini said.

Venice suffered a major setback last year when the tides reached historic levels, flooding the city. It was only just getting back on its feet when Covid-19 hit.

Since then, the absence of tourists — the city's main source of income — has plunged it into one of its darkest years in recent history.

“We are asking for help,” said the manager, who represents a group of partners who own the cafe.

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'Make Venice more liveable': Floating city prepares to trial 'tourist tax'

As of Thursday – a public holiday in Italy – day visitors will for the first time have to buy a €5 ticket, monitored by inspectors carrying out spot checks at key points in the UNESCO world heritage site.

Venice is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, with 3.2 million visitors staying overnight in the historic centre in 2022 – dwarfing the resident population of just 50,000.

Tens of thousands more pour into the city’s narrow streets for the day, often from cruise ships, to see sights including St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.

The aim of the tickets is to persuade day trippers to come during quieter periods, to try to thin out the worst of the crowds, the local council has said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How will Venice’s ‘tourist tax’ work?

Initially, tickets will only be required on 29 busy days throughout 2024, mostly weekends from May to July.

But the scheme is being closely watched as tourist destinations worldwide grapple with surging numbers of visitors, who boost the local economy but risk overwhelming communities and damaging fragile ecosystems and historical sites.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, has described the city’s scheme as “an experiment, and the first time it’s been done anywhere in the world”.

“Our aim is to make Venice more liveable,” he told reporters earlier this month.

Tourists walking towards Venice's St Mark's Square

Tourists walking towards Venice’s St Mark’s Square in July 2023. Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP

UNESCO warning

Venice, spread over more than 100 small islands and islets in northeastern Italy, is considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

The UN cultural body UNESCO listed the city and its lagoon as a world heritage site in 1987, citing it as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”.

But UNESCO threatened last year to put Venice on its list of heritage in danger, citing mass tourism and also rising water levels attributed to climate change.

Venice only escaped the ignominy after local authorities agreed the new ticketing system.

The idea had long been debated, but repeatedly postponed over concerns it would seriously dent tourist revenue and compromise freedom of movement.

READ ALSO: ‘It’s not Disneyland’: What Venice residents really think of new ‘tourist tax’

During a debate on the plan last September, opposition councillors cast the measure as a hastily arranged concession to UNESCO that would not have any impact.

“Fifty euros might have done something,” said one, Gianfranco Bettin.

In 2021, Venice had already imposed a ban on massive cruise ships from which thousands of day-trippers emerge daily, rerouting them to a more distant industrial port.

It has also introduced a tax for overnight visitors.

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice on June 5th, 2021.

Tourists crowd the Ponte della Paglia bridge in Venice. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP.

No queues

Venice’s mayor has promised the new system will be imposed with a light touch with “very soft controls” and “without queues”, rejecting speculation the city would be installing barriers or turnstiles in the streets.

Controllers will be stationed in and around the city’s main entrances, notably the Santa Lucia train station, performing spot checks on visitors.

Tourists without their ticket will be asked to purchase one on arrival, with the help of local operators.

OPINION: Why more of Italy’s top destinations must limit tourist numbers

But they could also risk fines ranging from €50 to €300.

The “Venice Access Fee” targets only daily tourists entering the old town between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm, with tourists staying in hotels, minors under 14, and the disabled among those exempt.

For the time being, there is no ceiling on the number of tickets – downloaded in the form of a QR code from an official website, distributed each day.

By AFP’s Gildas LE ROUX

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