Venice Says Tourists Are Too Fat For Their Iconic Gondolas

Travel and indulgence have gone hand in hand for as long as people have roamed, and Italy is a prime case. Why have one slice of pizza when you can have your own beautiful personal pie? The same goes for the wine, the pastry, the pasta, the antipasti, contorni and just about every other delight the country offers.

But that doesn’t help things when it comes to ticking off the Venice bucket list, which always includes a famed ride on one of the swoon worthy Gondolas. Citing growing tourists, the city is limiting passenger counts from six to five. And no, it’s not because of covid-19…

Raoul Roveratto is the President of a top organizing group for Gondola operators in Venice, and he made the situation in the canals vividly clear to La Repubblica, stating that loading some tourists was like loading “bombs”, before adding “tourists are now overweight”. Fair enough.

In response to the literally growing risks, not including the global pandemic, gondola operators in Venezia will now only board five passengers instead of six on narrow canals, and 12 instead of 14 on the larger vessels. The city has been largely shut down for months, but tourism is coming back slowly. Albeit, apparently with many who chose to use lock down as an opportunity to take up baking.

Venice is one of the most fascinating potential cities for travelers during the downturn from the global pandemic. The city has suffered from overtourism in recent years to the tune of 30 million annual visitors, most coming off of cruise ships and driving locals out of the city limits. Without cruises, the city is a near ghost town, but hasn’t missed a beat with its timeless charm and classical Italian outlook.

If travel is on your radar, now might be the time to visit Venice, and see it in ways which may never been seen again. Just be sure to hit the gym after breakfast, or you may hear a snickering ‘Da Nola’ Gondolier telling you off.