As a long-time resident of Venice, I (like many other Venetians, for that matter) would strongly question the statement “Yes, Venice once had a good mayor”: Venice's sell-out began when Massimo Cacciari, a former communist and media darling known as the “philosopher mayor,” discovered the blessings of the free market. Converts always tend toward extremes, so it's no surprise that Cacciari promised as early as 1994 to remove all obstacles for investors and their projects. This can be read in the brochure “Privatizzare Venezia” (Privatize Venice) – subtitled “The urban planner as entrepreneur” – which sounds like a neoliberal manifesto. It promised Venice a golden future if the city entered into a lifelong alliance with banks and international companies: the largest cruise port in the Mediterranean, expansion of the airport, endless large-scale projects – more, more, more.
The fact that Cacciari's vision also included the contamination of the lagoon with highly toxic biocides from ship hulls, the destruction of Venice's fragile shores as a result of the pressure of thousands of tons of water, electrosmog from radar systems, particulate matter pollution, and an officially recognized “significant increase in lung tumors” was accepted as collateral damage. Mayor Cacciari presented privatization to the Venetians as the only way to lead this city, stubbornly rooted in its past, into a bright future, which is why the Venetians were not surprised when the long-standing mayor and his city planning department head suddenly proclaimed the need for a new bridge over the Grand Canal. The enigmatic bridge to the train station was built for the Benettons. It is intended to channel the flow of visitors from Piazzale Roma directly to Benetton's own railway building and Benetton's own train station, where another large shopping center has been built. And there is much more to say about Cacciari, who is only highly praised as the so-called “philosopher mayor” in the eyes of the German-speaking press.
Thanks, Petra. So we were blinded by some of his writings, by his friendship with Tafuri, and probably by the fact that he had at least read (and written) a few books. He was also a staunch Covid denier, along with Giorgio Agamben. And he is a disciple of Carl Schmitt. Which is somehow related. Schmitt in the wrong hands or minds is disastrous. We were fooled by the philosopher mayor. His Verso Nord was also quite awful. Only in his thinking, in simply leaving contradictions as they are, in thinking in contradictions, is Cacciari very similar to Manfredo Tafuri. But perhaps that ultimately makes one a partisan of (neo) liberalism? In any case, thank you for the correction.
As a long-time resident of Venice, I (like many other Venetians, for that matter) would strongly question the statement “Yes, Venice once had a good mayor”: Venice's sell-out began when Massimo Cacciari, a former communist and media darling known as the “philosopher mayor,” discovered the blessings of the free market. Converts always tend toward extremes, so it's no surprise that Cacciari promised as early as 1994 to remove all obstacles for investors and their projects. This can be read in the brochure “Privatizzare Venezia” (Privatize Venice) – subtitled “The urban planner as entrepreneur” – which sounds like a neoliberal manifesto. It promised Venice a golden future if the city entered into a lifelong alliance with banks and international companies: the largest cruise port in the Mediterranean, expansion of the airport, endless large-scale projects – more, more, more.
The fact that Cacciari's vision also included the contamination of the lagoon with highly toxic biocides from ship hulls, the destruction of Venice's fragile shores as a result of the pressure of thousands of tons of water, electrosmog from radar systems, particulate matter pollution, and an officially recognized “significant increase in lung tumors” was accepted as collateral damage. Mayor Cacciari presented privatization to the Venetians as the only way to lead this city, stubbornly rooted in its past, into a bright future, which is why the Venetians were not surprised when the long-standing mayor and his city planning department head suddenly proclaimed the need for a new bridge over the Grand Canal. The enigmatic bridge to the train station was built for the Benettons. It is intended to channel the flow of visitors from Piazzale Roma directly to Benetton's own railway building and Benetton's own train station, where another large shopping center has been built. And there is much more to say about Cacciari, who is only highly praised as the so-called “philosopher mayor” in the eyes of the German-speaking press.
Thanks, Petra. So we were blinded by some of his writings, by his friendship with Tafuri, and probably by the fact that he had at least read (and written) a few books. He was also a staunch Covid denier, along with Giorgio Agamben. And he is a disciple of Carl Schmitt. Which is somehow related. Schmitt in the wrong hands or minds is disastrous. We were fooled by the philosopher mayor. His Verso Nord was also quite awful. Only in his thinking, in simply leaving contradictions as they are, in thinking in contradictions, is Cacciari very similar to Manfredo Tafuri. But perhaps that ultimately makes one a partisan of (neo) liberalism? In any case, thank you for the correction.