Renaissance synagogues being restored in Venice’s ghetto
Venice, ItalyAP Venice’s Jewish ghetto is considered the first in Europe and one of the first in the world, and a new effort is underway to preserve its 16th-century synagogues for the Jews who have remained and tourists who pass through. For nearly two years, restorers have been peeling away paint and discovering the original […]
Venice’s ‘Carnival of hope’ kicks off as COVID worries ease
Venice, ItalyReuters Thousands of people revelled in the start of the annual Carnival celebrations in Venice on Saturday, marking a slow return to normality after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the two previous editions. The 2020 Venice Carnival, which usually draws tourists from around the world, was curtailed when the pandemic broke out in Italy in […]
StrangeSights: A tiny prayer book; Christmas in Venice – Santas on gondolas and a floating Nativity; and, Vancouverites enjoy a beach joke…
DAVID ADAMS provides a round-up of some stories on the odder side of life…
Cancelled bookings, empty rooms: coronavirus takes toll on tourism
Milan, Italy/London, UK/Paris, FranceReuters Venice hotelier Judith Boulbain has to go back almost two decades to the 9/11 attacks to recall a time when business was this bad. Only a month before Easter, one of the busiest holidays in the European calendar, the owner of the Hotel San Samuele in the heart of Venice has […]
Without better flood protection, Venice risks loss of heritage status
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Venice could lose its status as a World Heritage Site if it does not adequately protect itself from worsening flooding, UNESCO representatives have warned, as they offered help after recent inundations. “Key buildings which are within the World Heritage area are threatened…this is of great concern to us, especially as this […]
Flood, fire and plague: climate change blamed for disasters
SingaporeReuters Extreme floods in Venice, fires in Australia and even an outbreak of plague in China have been attributed to climate change this week, while researchers have warned that global warming could saddle future generations with life-long illness. Venice declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after “apocalyptic” floods swept through the lagoon city, flooding […]
ESSAY: POPE FRANCIS FIRMS UP HIS LEGACY WITH APPOINTMENT OF NEW CARDINALS
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at how Pope Francis is reshaping the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals…
TOURISM: TOP SPOTS CRACK DOWN AS THEY BECOME VICTIMS OF THEIR OWN SUCCESS
EMMA BATHA, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how nations are coping with the growing influx of tourists around the world…
UK lawmakers to count environmental cost of mass tourism
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation British lawmakers said last week they would count the environmental cost of mass tourism amid warnings that leisure trips pose an ever greater threat to the planet. Fast-growing tourism accounts for about five per cent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide while floods of visitors are damaging a host of hot spots, said […]
Venice must be put on UN danger list, ban cruise ships – conservationists
Rome, ItalyReuters Venice should be put on the United Nations’ list of endangered cities and cruise ships should be banned from its fragile lagoon to prevent an ecological disaster, Italy’s main conservation group said on Monday. The call came less than a month after a towering cruise ship collided with a dock and a tourist […]