See the full story (in English) in this news agency release – ‘Hotel stays defy economic downturn‘.

The Torre San Niccolò (also know as Porta (city gate) San Niccolò) on the south bank of the Arno, a short way to the south east of Florence’s city centre offers some of the best views across the city. If you could climb it, that is – it has never been open to visitors.

That will all change this June (2011) when visitors will be able to climb the tower for the first time ever, thanks to a 300,000 Euro restoration and accessibility program begun last year.

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It’s not too big a leap to expect that Roger Waters may also be making a return visit – he’s played before, his tour is promoted by the festival organisers, and he’s playing in Milan in July. Watch this space.

*** Update. 12th January ***

The official site has been updated, confirming Elton John and adding one other act – Arcade Fire on the 9th of July. More dates to follow.

*** Update. 24th January ***

Other names being mentioned are Amy Winehouse, Joe Cocker and B.B. King

*** Update. 31st January ***

Confirmed for 15th July, B.B. King and Joe Cocker. American Blues at 9.00 in the evening followed by Sheffield Blues right after B.B and Lucille.

*** Update. 2nd February ***

Amy Winehouse confirmed on the 16th of July, with James Blunt being mentioned as a possibility.

*** Update. 4th February ***

James Blunt confirmed for 21st July

*** Update, 4th march ***

Ben Harper, 18th July

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*** Update, 14th March ***

It’s a return visit for Ferrari loving Jamiroquai, confirmed for July 24th.

*** Update, 3rd April ***

Pretty much all conformed now. New dates are Zucchero on the 8th of July, Italian ‘cantautore’ Francesco Guccini on the 1st of July and, back again, Burt Bacharach on the 10th of July.

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Like the dwellings that surround it, much of the hotel incorporates grottoes, with facades cut into the rock or constructed from limestone blocks. Suite 10 had been transformed into a magical version of Plato’s Cave, glowing with golden artificial light that filtered in through small windows, and from recessed lighting in the walls. The minimal space was simply decorated, with an artfully worn wooden desk, a large bed with a white crocheted cover, arched ceilings and a floor of packed earth and patinaed stone tiles.

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NYT piece

“We appeal to the Italian government to change the legislation that permits huge advertisements on the scaffolding of public buildings. Only ten years ago, Venice was a city without large advertisements. Today, they are proliferating. They hit you in the eye and ruin your experience of one of the most beautiful creations of humankind. Their scale dwarfs the fine detail and proportions of the buildings, and now that they are also illuminated, you cannot escape them even by night, when they are the hardest, brightest lights in town by far.

We ask you to imagine the disappointment that the 17.5m visitors to Venice this year will feel. They come to this iconic city with an image of it in their mind’s eye and instead they see its famous views grotesquely defaced.

To those who say that the money the advertisements bring is necessary to restore those buildings, we remind you that after the great flood of 1966, when Venice was in a much worse state and Italy a much less rich country, no one contemplated using this method to raise funds.

Other ways of financing restoration must be found, otherwise Venice is doomed to be covered in advertisements for the rest of its life because its buildings will always be undergoing work due to their great age and the environmental fragility of the city.

Finally, we remind you that Venice is a Unesco World Heritage Site and that a preceding government of Italy undertook to protect its essential nature in perpetuity when it accepted this nomination.”

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Tickets for visitng the Palazzo Ducale

The ‘why?’ seems pretty clear, and it’s a domestic issue – visits by foreign tourists were increased, thanks largely to more competitive prices and more attractive currency exchange rates, but the fall in Italians staying in hotels more than cancelled out this increase.

Although the situation improved in August, the year-on-year figures still show a decline in 2010.

Federalberghi report (Italian only, but statistics obvious enough)

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According to this years Hotel Price Index from Expedia, Venice can take a step backwards and relinquish her crown – the most expensive (average per night stay) hotels in Italy are now to be found in the tiny coastal hotspot of Rapallo in Liguria, roughly half way between Genoa and La Spezia, a few trawls of the net up from the Cinque Terre.

To be fair, this is a supply and demand issue more than a Clooney-has-just-bought-a-villa-there issue, and, in common with most Ligurian seaside towns, Rapallo has very limited space for, well, anything, and is a long way from giving Venice a run for it’s money in terms of number of hotels or number of visitors.
However, this area of the Italian Riviera has been growing considerably in popularity of late – it’s always been a playboy destination, of course, as well as an artistic hotspot – DH Lawrence, Max Beerbohm, Friedrich Nietzche, Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway were all visitors, though now it’s just as likely to be filmstars, footballers and fantastically wealthy Russians.

Link to survey results

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Neatly dismissing claims that she wouldn’t be strong enough for the task, she pointed out that giving birth was more difficult.

“Boscolo says she inherited her passion for navigating Venice’s canals from her gondolier father, Dante, when she was seven. ”I’ve always loved gondolas and, unlike my three sisters, I preferred to punt with my father instead of going out with my friends,” she said after passing her entrance exam.”

And, with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, I suppose we should be thankful that official regulations insist on all gondolas being black, otherwise this would be just around the corner.

Original press story

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