Brugnaro told the press that the iconic city needed €150 million (A$255 million) a year for the next 10 years.
“Venice is a patrimony of humanity, and so it is necessary that there should be intervention at all levels to safeguard it,” he said.
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 and one of the most picturesque cities on the planet, Venice faces several threats from overtourism, damage caused by a steady stream of cruise ships, whose docking has been moved slightly away to Marghera, and from the potential negative effects of new developments.
The site is also highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, and only three weeks ago the UN’s cultural agency was calling for the city to be added to the list of world heritage sites in danger.
A UNESCO report says Venice is at risk of ‘irreversible” damage from overwhelming tourism, overdevelopment and rising sea levels’.
It blames Italian authorities for a “lack of strategic vision” to solve the problems it faces, however former mayor Massimo Cacciari said UNESCO passes “judgement without knowledge” and “give opinions left and right, which we would do best to disregard”.
“They don’t give us any funding to make changes, all they do is criticise…
“As if Venice needed UNESCO to be a world heritage site! We need more action and fewer words.”
There are more than 55 World Heritage sites globally listed by UNESCO as being “in danger”, with a further 204, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, that are being actively watched by the agency due to the threats they face.
Addressing another of its battles, Venice city council said last week that it is upping the fight against graffiti vandals who despoil historic monuments and bridges.
ANSA
