Venice

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Venice Sinking Again, Slowly
 Venice Sinking Again, Slowly 

Venice Sinking Again, Slowly

Satellite measurements show it tilting slightly to the east as well

(Newser) - Venice is sinking once again, according to new satellite readings. The famous canal-ridden city sank significantly last century thanks to underground water extraction, but once that practice stopped, data from the early 2000s indicated that the city had stabilized. But now a team of US and Italian researchers has concluded...

Venice: Cruise Ships Are Killing Us

Tourism surging, residents worry about Costa Concordia disaster

(Newser) - Fragile, waterlogged Venice has long been unhappy with the onslaught of ever-larger cruise ships that inundate its picturesque port. But the wreck of the Costa Concordia has sent fears soaring, and many in the city are calling for regulations to cut down on the 650 cruise ships that come to...

Venice Tourists to Pay Tax to Save City

Minimal tax on overnight visitors could raise millions

(Newser) - Vacationing in Venice is about to get a wee bit pricier. In a bid to save the slowly sinking city, Venice will next month start levying a tourist tax. Those lucky enough to stay in a five-star hotel will see a nightly per-person charge of nearly $6.50 added to...

Venice Bans Racy Julianne Moore Billboard

Nudes 'not appropriate' for St. Mark's Square

(Newser) - Actress Julianne Moore's suggestive photo for Bulgari is more peek-a-boo than bold, but it's still too risqué for Venice, which has barred the nudie billboard from St. Mark's Place. Moore's secrets are tucked away behind a roomy Bulgari bag and squishy lions cubs, but it's nevertheless inappropriate, ruled the town's...

Angelina Makes Up With Dad in Venice

Jolie photographed with her estranged pop, John Voight

(Newser) - The Jolie-Pitt clan just keeps growing: The family has been spotted with Angelina's father, Jon Voight, publicly signaling an end to their long-running feud. The duo, along with Brad Pitt and two of the couple's kids, were seen taking a water taxi ride in Venice yesterday. Pitt, who is known...

Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat
 Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat 

Venice Struggles to Stay Afloat

Billion-dollar floodgates may fail to stave off rising tides

(Newser) - Not only is Venice sinking, but the $6-billion floodgates designed to protect it may not do the job, NPR reports. Critics say that the 78 half-built mobile gates, designed to block off seawater when it rises, may fail to fend off sea levels heightened by climate change. And even if...

Venice's First Lady Gondolier Makes a Splash

(Newser) - A 23-year-old mother of two has overcome a grueling entrance exam and 900 years of taboos to become the first female gondolier in Venetian history, the Los Angeles Times reports. Giorgia Boscolo's entry into the profession has caused waves among the city's close-knit fraternity of gondoliers, with some fearing she...

World's Most Legendary Bars
 World's Most Legendary Bars 
TRAVEL

World's Most Legendary Bars

(Newser) - Even the most enjoyable vacation can leave you in need of a drink, and bars make great, offbeat places to learn about the history of your destination. The staff of VirtualTourist.com shares its favorite legendary watering holes with Reuters:
  • Harry’s Bar, Venice: Famed Hemingway haunt claims to have
...

'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice
 'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice 

'Vampire' Unearthed in Venice

Gravediggers took steps to stop corpse feasting on other plague victims

(Newser) - Italian archeologists have discovered evidence of an ancient vampire-slaying ritual in a 16th-century plague pit near Venice, the AP reports. A female skeleton was unearthed with a brick wedged between her jaws, in what experts believe was an attempt by superstitious gravediggers to stop the corpse from eating through its...

Scorn Bubbles Over Venice-Coke Deal

Outrage greets plan to install vending machines in lagoon city

(Newser) - The mayor of Venice has cut a $2.1 million deal with Coca-Cola to install dozens of vending machines, leading to angry charges that the company was "buying" the historic lagoon city. The city council has spent years passing ordinances to keep tourists from disrupting Venice's heritage, but in...

Venice Flooding Hits 20-Year High

Water up 5 ft. from normal in city of canals; tourists waved away

(Newser) - The Queen of the Seas is wetter than usual these days, as seasonal flooding has hit a 20-year high, submerging Venice's streets in up to 5 feet of water, BBC reports. The city of canals is now a veritable lake, and the mayor has warned citizens not to go out...

Rourke Shines Again at Venice Film Festival

Ex-heartthrob stars in The Wrestler , which nabs Golden Lion

(Newser) - Former Hollywood bad boy Mickey Rourke returned to the spotlight yesterday when his latest low-budget film, The Wrestler, won top honors at the Venice film festival. Critics gushed over his performance as an aging wrestler who comes to terms with his failing body and flagging friendships.

Ex-Wife's Novel Details Taylor's Marital Breakup
Ex-Wife's Novel Details Taylor's Marital Breakup
ANALYSIS

Ex-Wife's Novel Details Taylor's Marital Breakup

Publisher of ex-wife's A Stopover in Venice downplays a big selling point

(Newser) - Book-jacket fodder that could alone put a novel on the bestseller list is curiously absent from Kathryn Walker’s debut, A Stopover in Venice, Celia McGee notes in the New York Times—though it’s a fictional account of her unhappy marriage to James Taylor. The musician comes in for...

Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs
 Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs 
Travel

Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs

Gigs that straddle the line between necessary and absurd

(Newser) - From Parisian sewer guides to a coconut safety engineer in St. Thomas, some travel industry jobs straddle the line between necessary and absurd. Travel and Leisure highlights some of the strangest.
  1. Tourism ambassador, Japan. Diplomacy never looked so soft and cuddly after Japan appointed elder statesfeline Hello Kitty for PR
...

When in Venice, Can the Water Bottles

Legendary city pleads with tourists to use public fountains

(Newser) - Faced with a mountain of discarded plastic bottles, Venice is asking 19 million tourists to quit drinking mineral water and use the city's 122 public fountains. Beginning Thursday, visitors to the Piazzale Roma will be handed reusable plastic bottles and a map showing fountains that city officials claim are "...

Man Nabbed for Shooting 3,000 Rear Views

He took 3,000 pictures of women's behinds in Venice

(Newser) - A Venice man could be facing time behind bars after being caught sneakily snapping photos of women's bottoms—3,000 of them, the BBC reports. Cops busted the suspect after noticing him carrying a bulky bag and following women in short skirts, waiting for them to bend over. The rear-guard...

Venice Bar Uses Discount to Lure 'Poor Yanks'

Old Hemingway haunt bucks up faltering dollar with 20% off

(Newser) - Harry's Bar in Venice has offered hospitality to tourists and expatriates since the days of Ernest Hemingway. But in recent months Harry's has noticed a sharp drop in the number of Americans showing up at the home of the Bellini cocktail. So restaurant owner Arrigo Cipriani has a novel solution:...

Venice Squawking Over Pigeons
Venice Squawking Over Pigeons

Venice Squawking Over Pigeons

City wants to say arrivederci to the foul fowl

(Newser) - Venice's pigeons are nearly as famous as its gondolas, but the days of tourists feeding pigeon in St. Mark's Square could be numbered, reports Der Speigel. Venice has one of the highest pigeon-to-person ratios of any city in the world, and fed-up city politicians want to remove the square's exemption...

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