Venice teeming with tourists and fast food

Whatever allure Venice has on tourists in these contemporary times, I don’t see it as a “romantic” city. Its plazas and narrow streets are choked with people, many with tourist maps in hand and trying to decipher the city’s maze of passageways and canals.

Massive tour ships arrive continuously, bringing thousands each day. I am stunned the ships can maneuver in the small and fairly shallow harbor.

Fast food places, most selling pizza and sodas, are flourishing. Ancient churches, many crumbling for lack of funds, are given over to being concert halls to raise money. Some churches are in such disrepair they have closed for safety reasons.

My visit to Venice was only part of a day via a quick ride across the Adriatic Sea from Slovenia where I was speaking at a conference. Appalled by the mass of humanity I immediately encountered in Venice, I set about trying to find any timeless images of the city … if they still remained. And, yes, they do … more or less.

Here are some of my images from that visit … which I have found better shown in black and white.