Bestselling author and Venice expert Donna Leon (81) is not very fond of the new system of admission fees on certain days in Venice. The city wants to use this to Better control the number of tourists.
“Five euros will hardly change anything,” Leon told the German Press Agency. “And the authorities don’t want it to work anyway: They don’t want to stop tourism. They want to make money from the visitors.”
Leon lived in Venice for 30 years and created her successful series about Commissioner Brunetti The latest volume is titled “Trial by Fire” (publication date: May 29).
In 2007, Leon fled to Switzerland to escape the ever-increasing flow of tourists. Reducing the number of tourists is an impossible task she said. A higher fee would be unfair.
“Should only rich people be able to afford to go there?” she said. Everyone has the same right to admire beauty (like in Venice). If traveling destroys that very beauty, nothing can be done about it. (dpa)