高潮とコロナで二重苦のベネチア、映画祭開催も活気戻らず

【ベネチアＡＦＰ＝時事】イタリア・ベネチアにとって、この1年はひどい年だった。（写真は資料写真）
　昨年１１月には、「アクアアルタ」と呼ばれる高潮が発生、高さ１８７センチと１９６６年以降の最高水位を記録した。浸水被害に見舞われたベネチアは、経済的打撃にも苦しんだ。
　２月にはベネト州で、同国初の新型コロナウイルスによる死者が確認された。国内の死者は３万５０００人を超えている。
　ついに今月２日、第７７回ベネチア国際映画祭が開幕した。窮地に陥った愛すべき都市ベネチアの希望と再生の象徴だと大々的に報じられている。
　しかし、毎年推定３０００万人の観光客が来ることに慣れている地元の人にとって、今年は祝うべきことはほぼない状態だ。
　ツアーガイドのフランチェスカさんは、街はぽっかり穴が開いたようだと言う。米国や中国からの入国は制限されており、観光客の姿は見られない。
　フランチェスカさんは観光客が減ったことについて「悲しいが、（街は）美しくなった」と話す。
　ベネチア市長によると、観光客の数はサンマルコ広場のハトやカモメの数を上回るようになり、ホテルの客室は４０～５０％埋まっているという。
　しかし、ベネチアが本調子を取り戻したわけではない。
　今でも多くの店は、新型コロナによるロックダウン（都市封鎖）で休業したままだ。８日には、サンマルコ広場の店舗の約３分の１が閉じていた。
　１１世紀からあるリアルト市場で魚を売るアンドレーア・ディ・ロッシさんは、今年の売り上げは８０％減少していると語る。主に市内の多くのレストランが閉鎖されたためだという。
　今年のベネチア国際映画祭は、規模を縮小して開催された。渡航制限で多くのスターや映画製作者、業界幹部らが出席できなかった。
　だが、開催地であるリド島の飲食店やバーなどは、映画祭に集まって来た人たちで少なくとも一時的にはにぎわった。
　一方で、ゴンドラの船頭ウォルターさんのように、懐疑的な人もいる。
　「映画作品は少なく、いくつかイタリア映画があるだけだ。ベネチアは活気があると見せるため、たとえ中身がなくても、どうしても実施しなければいけなくて開催された政治的な映画祭だ」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/09/15-12:47）

It's been a bad year for Venice.
In November, the highest tides in over 50 years left it submerged -- the famous Italian lagoon city drenched, despondent and economically devastated.
Fast forward to February when the surrounding region, Veneto, saw Italy's first death from coronavirus -- an epidemic that went on to kill over 35,000 people in the country.
Finally this month, the opening of the prestigious Venice film festival on September 2 was trumpeted as a sign of hope and renewal for the beloved yet beleaguered city.
But one week into the world-renowned Mostra del Cinema on the beachfront Lido, a twenty-minute boat ride from Venice, many Venetians say there is still little to celebrate.
Nothing has changed much, said Francesca, a tour operator manning a stand on the Venice waterfront who declined to give her last name.
For those locals accustomed to the estimated 30 million tourists who visit each year, whose presence makes it a challenge to cross the Rialto Bridge or snap a photo of the Bridge of Sighs, the city feels empty, she said.
Visibly missing are visitors from the United States and China, among other countries, who are still prohibited from travelling to the country.
All my family works in tourism. It makes me sad on one hand, but it's beautiful, she said, referring to the fewer tourists.
Although visitors now outnumber pigeons and seagulls in Saint Mark's Square, and hotels are at 40 to 50 percent capacity, according to the mayor, the city has not yet hit its stride.
Many businesses are still shuttered from the coronavirus lockdown.
About a third of shops lining Saint Mark's Square were closed on Tuesday, as a few hundred tourists meandered around, enjoying the sunny weather.
Venetians also point out that those who attend the festival don't necessarily move outside their film industry bubble on the Lido.
People come but it's not like people come to buy fish, said Andrea Dei Rossi, a seller inside the Mercato di Rialto, whose fish market has been in operation since the 11th century.
It's been a hard year for all of us, Dei Rossi said. The fact that we're open is wonderful.
Dei Rossi's business is down 80 percent this year, he said, due primarily to the closure of many of the city's restaurants.
- 'A matter of image' -
The festival, now in its 77th year, is a scaled-down version of its former self this September amid ongoing travel restrictions preventing many stars, filmmakers and industry executives from attending.
But restaurants, bars and other businesses on the Lido are enjoying at least a temporary boost with the arrival of the film crowd.
One waitress, Betelehem Pilastro, described the festival as a yearly adventure that gives so much work to so many people.
Others are more sceptical, like water taxi driver Walter, who asked his last name not be used.
There are hardly any films, just some Italian productions. It's a political festival that had to happen no matter what, even without content, to show that Venice is alive, he said.
I consider this festival just a matter of image.
- Rent is due -
The Serenissima, as the floating city of Venice is called in Italian, is home to a mere 50,000 residents who lament the city's depopulation, the worsening annual flooding, and the mass tourism threatening their environmentally fragile city.
The infamous acqua alta, or periodic high water, hit 187cm (6 feet 13 inches) in November, the highest level since 1966.
The city declared a state of emergency as shops, homes and over 50 churches were inundated with water, causing millions of dollars in damages and a collapse in tourism.
Just as the city was digging itself out, coronavirus struck.
Shopkeeper Lumine Vanda said Venetians are aware they're not alone in dealing with the difficult economic repercussions from coronavirus.
Still, the insecurity felt today by locals was worse than anything experienced in her lifetime, said the 75-year-old.
In March, Vanda's landlords cut by half the 5000 euro ($5900) rent she pays for her artisanal shoe and handbag shop on the Rialto Bridge. But that discount will run out at the end of the year.
In January they'll ask for five months rent, said Vanda. How will we do that?