Venice's 'forgotten' islands could be key to saving city from overtourism
SHARE
Photo: Alamy
Away from the once-maddening crowds of St. Mark's Square, tiny Certosa island could be a template for building a sustainable future in Venice as it tries to relaunch its tourism industry without boomeranging back to pre-pandemic day-tripping hordes.
Private investment has converted the forgotten public island just a 15-minute waterbus ride from St. Mark's Square into a multi-faceted urban park where Venetians and Venice conoscenti can mix, free from the tensions inherent to the lagoon city's perennial plague of mass tourism.
See Also
"This is the B-side of the Venetian LP," said Alberto Sonino, who heads the development project that includes a hotel, marina, restaurant and woodland. "Everyone knows the first song of the A-side of our long-play, almost nobody, not even the most expert or locals, know the lagoon as an interesting natural and cultural environment."