Dangerous Waters

The discussion of Venice is not complete without the inclusion of the water. "The Tourist Maze" makes the connections between the problems caused by water in the city and the tourist who invade its sparse bits of land. The inital discussion is of the famous smelly water, which they discribe as the second most famous myth of the city only to the "fact" that the city is sinking. It is amusing to think that the same stink and muck that the tourist complain about is partial caused by them or their fellow tourist, leaving waste of all kinds behind as they shuffle from attraction to attraction. Countering the point of the actual inhabitants of the city (both temporary and permenent) causing the dirty water is the fact that for years on the terrafirma industry was dumping chemicals and waste into the lagoon and agriculture was allowing unregulated runoff directly into the water surrounding the city. In an effort to keep the lagoon acessible to residents and visitors alike, the canal dredging has been to blame for stirring up this toxic that settles over time.
An interesting relation between the water and tourist comes about in the discussion of the acqua alta and the flooding/sinking quality of the city. Interestingly that the discussion of how to "save" the city also includes a discussion of how to save it without saving it too much. A fear of changing the city so much that visitors will no longer flock to the city. The final discussion is one of modernization of a city that is attempting to stay premodern. The change from rowed to motorized boats is one of necessity and convience but yet is having a profound effect on the decay of the city. The delicate balance of land and water that has been Venice's situation since its first inhabitants seems to only escalate. Now the perdicament of maintaining the living museum while at the same time being environmentally concious and continuing its livability has become stickier than the muck that fills lagoon.