"Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice”, said Marco Polo to Kublai Khan in Italo Calvino’s seminal book, Invisible Cities. Once the heart of a powerful maritime republic, Venice indeed houses many cities inside its intricate network of canals, alleys, bridges, and squares. Renowned for its unique architectural beauty, Renaissance history, and cultural significance — and, of course, for being built in the middle of the water — over the past decades, Venice has become one of the most notable victims of overtourism, receiving an estimated 30 million visitors per year.
The figures are astonishing, far outnumbering the 50,000 residents that call Venice home — 120,000 less than its population in the early 1950s, when city dwellers started to drive away, bothered by the permanent noise and overcrowded walkways.
