What is Venice worth? To whom does this urban treasure
belong? This eloquent book by the 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. Venetiansare increasingly
abandoning their hometown – ther’s now only one resident
for every 140 visitors and 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 setting into shopping malls and theme parks. He warns
Western civilisation’s prime achievements face impending
ruin from mass tourism and global cultural homogenisation.
This is passionate plea to secure Venice’s future, written with
consummate authority, wide-ranging erudition, and élan.