威尼斯之殇

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Nowhere in Italy, where 1)calamity comes2)embellished with 3)rococo gestures and 4)embroidered in 5)exclamation points, is there a crisis more beautifully 6)framed than Venice. Neither land nor water, but shimmering somewhere in between, the city lifts like a 7)mirage from a 8)lagoon at the head of the 9)Adriatic. For centuries it has threatened to vanish beneath the waves of the 10)acqua alta, relentlessly regular flooding caused by the 11)complicity of rising tides and sinking foundations, but that is the least of its problems. Just ask Mayor Massimo Cacciari about the acqua alta and Venice sinking, and he says, “So go get boots.”

Boots are fine for water, but useless against the flood that causes more 12)hand-wringing than any lagoon 13)spillover: the flood of tourism. In May 2008, for example, on a holiday weekend, 80,000 tourists 14)descended on the city like 15)locusts on the fields of Egypt. Public 16)lots in Mestre, a mainland part of the municipality where people park and take the bus or train to the historic center, filled and were closed. Those who managed to get to Venice surged through the streets like 17)schools of 18)bluefish, 19)snapping up pizza and20)gelato, leaving paper and plastic bottles in their 21)wake.

“Beauty is difficult,” Mayor Cacciari said. And the problems lie elsewhere. The cost of maintaining Venice: “There is not enough money from the state to cover it all―the cleaning of canals, restoration of buildings, raising of foundations. Very expensive.’’ The cost of living: “It’s three times as costly to live here as in Mogliano, 20 kilometers away. It’s affordable only for the rich or elderly who already own houses because they have been passed down. The young? They can’t afford it.”

Finally, there is tourism. Of that, Cacciari the philosopher said this: “Venice is not a sentimental place of honeymoon. It’s a strong, contradictory, 22)overpowering place. It is not a city for tourists. It cannot be reduced to a postcard.”

“When I arrived 30 years ago, the population was 120,000. Now it is less than 60,000.” Gherardo Ortalli, a professor of medieval history says. The decline seems 23)inexorable. Last year alone, the resident population fell by 444. Ortalli thinks Venice will end up as simply a theme park for the rich, who will 24)jet in to spend a day or two in their 25)palazzo, then leave. “Everything is for sale,” he sighs. “Even Venice.”

The 26)malady is chronic. The 27)contagion seeps down streets, climbs bridges, and crosses the piazza. “There goes another piece of Venice,” Silvia Zanon, the teacher, said sadly when La Cami­ceria San Marco, a clothing store located near the 28)Piazza San Marco for 60 years, had to move to a smaller, less prime spot because the rent had tripled. “It’s like leaving the house where you were born,” said Susanna Cestari, who had worked there 32 years, packing boxes for the move.

Meanwhile, plans for the city’s salvation appear and disappear with the regularity of the tides, but the 29)stakes couldn’t be higher. There is talk, always talk about limiting tourists, taxing tourists, 30)imploring them to avoid the high seasons of Easter and 31)Carnival, but tourism―intertwined with the loss of resident population, complicated by the power of 32)hoteliers, 33)gondoliers, and water taxi drivers, who have an interest in maximizing the 34)influx of tourists―35)defies simple solutions.

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Redemption may be out of reach. “It is too late,” Gherardo Ortalli, the historian, says. “36)Nineveh is finished. 37)Babylon is finished. Venice will remain. That is, the stones will remain. The people won’t.”

Meet the official charged with the solemn duty of managing the 38)wear and tear of tourism. His name is Augusto Salvadori. Love is not too strong a word―in fact, it is inadequate to describe how Salvadori feels about Venice. He is not just the city’s director of tourism and promoter of tradition; he is its defender. In fall 2007 he dispatched a 39)commando of volunteers to spread the 40)gospel of neatness in the Piazza San Marco, to remind visitors to follow the 41)commandments of good behavior: not to eat, drink, or sit anywhere other than in designated areas. “We are fighting for the dignity of Venice,” Salvadori says. In spring 2008, he announced 42)decorum week; 72,000 plastic bags were distributed to residents so that they could dispose of dog 43)poop. Useful, except that no one provided extra trash cans for the used bags.

“The city is consumed by tourism,” says Salvadori. “What do Venetians get in exchange?” A frown as his brow 44)plummets. “Services are strained. During part of the year Venetians cannot 45)elbow their way onto public transportation. The cost of garbage collection increases; so does the price of living.” Does it ever, particularly when it comes to residential property. A 1999 law that eased regulations on the conversion of residential buildings to tourist accommodations 46)exacerbated an ongoing housing shortage. Meanwhile, the number of hotels and guesthouses since 1999 has increased by 600 percent.

“Perhaps to help,” Salvadori says, “we put a city tax on hotels and restaurants. They say tourists will not come―but I say, tourists won’t come for a few euros?” He glares. “I cannot be worried about hotels. I have to think of the Venetians. My battle is for the city. Because Venice”―his voice softens, he touches his chest―“is my heart.”

在意大利,连灾难都以洛可可式的浮夸姿态呈现、处处都让人惊叹,没有哪个地方的危机比威尼斯来得更美丽。这座城市既不属陆地也不属水域,而是介乎于水陆之间,如海市蜃楼般浮在亚得里亚海最前端的一片泻湖上。几个世纪以来,它都面临着消失在大潮(涨潮及地基下陷所引起的定期爆发且严重的水灾)巨浪下的危险,但那还只是小问题而已。询问市长马西 莫・卡奇亚利关于大潮与威尼斯下沉的事,他会回答:“那就去买靴子吧。”

靴子挡得了水,却无法应付那种比任何泻湖满溢都更令人担忧的观光客泛滥之灾。以2008年5月为例,一个假日周末就有8万名游客涌入这个城市,就像埃及田野上的蝗虫一样。梅斯特雷的公共停车场――市内的一块陆地区域,人们在此停车然后搭乘公交车或者火车前往古城中心区――因爆满而被关闭。那些成功进入威尼斯的人如成群的青鱼般扫过街道,买来匹萨和意大利艺术冰淇淋便狼吞虎咽,所到之处只见遗留下来的包装纸和塑料瓶。

“美也是件难事啊,”市长卡奇亚利说。而问题在于其他方面,那就是维护威尼斯的花费:“政府没有拨出足够的钱来支持各个方面的开支――运河的清理、建筑的修复、地基的提高。这些开支都很大。”另外,还有生活成本:“跟20公里外的莫利亚诺比,这里的生活成本足足是其3倍之高。只有富人和那些在此继承了祖屋的老人才能负担得起这样的生活开销。年轻人?他们根本负担不起。”

最后一点问题就是旅游业了。对此,身为哲学家的卡奇亚利说道:“威尼斯不是一个浪漫柔情的蜜月圣地,它是个强大、矛盾、令人为之倾倒的地方。它不是一座为游客而建造的城市,也不能用明信片上的风景来概括这么简单。”

“三十年前我来到这里的时候,这里的人口有12万,现在只有不到6万人,”研究中世纪历史的教授格拉多・奥他利如是说。人口的减少看来是不可阻挡的。仅仅是去年,常住居民人数就减少了444人。奥他利认为,威尼斯最终会完全变成一个富人专享的主题公园,供他们从四处飞来,在豪华住宅里呆一两天,然后离开的地方。“一切都在出售,”他叹息道,“连威尼斯本身也如此。”

这“恶疾”是慢性的,“病毒”一步步地渗透到街道,爬上桥梁,穿过广场。因租金上升了三倍,圣马可广场附近的一家60年老店――圣马可服装店――被迫搬到一处较小,位置没那么优越的地方。眼见于此,教师西尔维娅・匝农伤心地说:“威尼斯又一片区域消失了。”在圣马可服装店工作了32年的苏珊娜・瑟斯塔瑞一边打包准备搬店,一边说:“这感觉就像要离开你出生的那所房子一样。”

与此同时,拯救这座城市的计划随着潮水的定期涨退而时隐时现,而个中利害关系牵涉太大了。虽然经常有这样的声音说要限制游客,向游客征税,恳请游客避开人流高峰期,如复活节和狂欢节等,但是旅游业紧扣着居民人口流失的问题,再加上那些旅馆经营者、凤尾船船夫以及水上的士司机的利益考虑(他们希望更多游客到此,从而赚取更多的钱),这些都使得旅游业发展所引发的问题难以找到简单出路。

要挽救这座城市恐怕来不及了。“为时已晚了,”历史学家格拉多・奥他利说,“尼尼微消失了,巴比伦消失了。威尼斯仍会留下来。更确切地说,石头仍会留下来,而人们却不会。”

让我们见见那个肩负管理威尼斯的旅游业发展,维护市容这个神圣责任的官员吧。他的名字叫奥古斯都・萨尔瓦多利。“爱”不算是个强烈的字眼――事实上,它还不足以用来形容萨尔瓦多利对威尼斯的感觉。他不仅仅是这个城市主管旅游业的官员和传统习俗的推广者,他还是这城市的守护者。2007年秋季,他派了一队志愿者在圣马可广场宣传“保持城市整洁”的主张,以提醒游客遵循良好的行为准则:不在指定地区之外的任何地方吃、喝或就坐。“我们在为威尼斯的尊严而战,”萨尔瓦多说。2008年春天,他宣布举行“礼仪周”活动,派发了72000个塑料袋给居民用来处理狗粪。这项举措很奏效,只是,没人另外提供垃圾筒来装那些用过的胶袋。

“这个城市被旅游业吞噬了,”萨尔瓦多利说,“威尼斯人得到了什么呢?”他皱了皱眉头。“各种服务处于疲劳运作的状态。每年有一部分时间,威尼斯人很难挤上公共交通工具。收集垃圾的成本增加了,物价也升高了。”特别是涉及到住宅物业时更是如此。1999年的一项法律放宽了对住宅物业改建为旅游住所的限制,这进而加剧了住房紧缺的问题。与此同时,自1999年起,酒店和小型旅馆的数量激增了600%。

“为了帮助缓解情况,”萨尔瓦多说,“也许,我们应该向酒店和餐馆收取城市税。他们说,这样的话游客就不会来了――但我说,游客会因为这几欧元就不来吗?”他瞪了瞪眼。“我没法替那些酒店担心。我得关心威尼斯人。我是为这个城市而战的。因为威尼斯”――他的声音变柔和了,他摸了口――“是我心之所系。”

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