If Venice Dies

By Salvatore Settis

A chilling account of the slow agony of Venice as illustrative of a global consumerist epidemic. Richly documented and imbued with deep angst about this supreme urban creation."Philippe de Montebello, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

What is Venice worth? To whom does this urban treasure belong? This eloquent book by internationally renowned art historian Salvatore Settis urgently poses these questions, igniting a new debate about the Pearl of the Adriatic and cultural patrimony at large. Venetians are increasingly abandoning their hometownthere's now only one resident for every 140 visitorsand Venice's fragile fate has become emblematic of the future of historic cities everywhere as it capitulates to tourists and those who profit from them. In If Venice Dies, a fiery blend of history and cultural analysis, Settis argues that "hit-and-run" visitors are turning landmark urban settings into shopping malls and theme parks. This is a passionate plea to secure the soul of Venice, written with consummate authority, wide-ranging erudition and élan.

Salvatore Settis is an archaeologist and art historian and former director of the Getty Research Institute of Los Angeles and the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. He is chairman of the Louvre Museum's Scientific Council., Settis, often considered the conscience of Italy for his role in spotlighting its neglect of national heritage, is the author of several books on art history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Vessel Press
• Release date: Aug 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781939931382

Reviews for If Venice Dies

[seeword · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent examination of a number of issues facing the future of the historic city of Venice (and by extension other historic cities in the rest of Italy and the world). Tourism, declining population, political graft, corporate irresponsibility, and lack of architectural ethics are among the issues discussed. Settis also speaks on what it means to be a city. My copy through a subscription to New Vessel Press.

[jonerthon-437513 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A spirited defense of the need to think of Venice as a permanent home of locals and not a destination for tourism and commercial interests. The modern day Venice is already threatened by the rising sea, but driving further threats are the massive cruise ships now allowed to dock there and bring thousands of daytrippers at a time. The author is unapologetic in his criticism of the Italian government's failures, lending a distinctly local expertise to a city that for me is far-flung and that I previously have only known through the lens of other foreigners.