The grand “tourist crush” drives both Venetians and tourists mad. In a desperate attempt to dent the romanticism with a touch of realism the former mayor ran a “smear-campaign” to show the seamier side of the city – the rubbish in St Mark’s Square, the dead rats in the canals... But nothing changed. Now prominent Venetians are suggesting that tourists should pay to enter the city, hoping this will stop the droves of day trippers who “bring their own lunch” and lower the tone of the city: “they sleep or sit in the middle of the square, practically half-naked...” A candid (and picturesque) debate on the dilemmas of mass-tourism.

Produced by ABC Australia