Political Theatre in Public Spaces: Manifesting Identity in Venice, Italy

Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology Spring 5-6-2012 Political Theatre in Public Spaces: Manifesting Identity in Venice, Italy Ivey R. Tapp Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses Recommended Citation Tapp, Ivey R., "Political Theatre in Public Spaces: Manifesting Identity in Venice, Italy." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/59 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL THEATRE IN PUBLIC SPACES: MANIFESTING IDENTITY IN VENICE, ITALY by IVEY R. TAPP Under the Direction of Emanuela Guano ABSTRACT The combination of poorly managed mass tourism, rapidly increasing international migration, and a declining economy facilitated a permanent exodus of natives out of the Venetian lagoon. This thesis examines how the community activism group and social network Venessia.com attempts to reclaim a place-based and place-manifested Venetian identity (venezianità) through theatrical public protests. While members are sensitive to an ethic of intercultural awareness, the discourse accompanying their concerns reveals nostalgia for the power and grandeur of Venice’s past that is threatened by a perceived invasion by suspicious outsiders. The theoretical framework I employ to illuminate Venessia.com's efforts includes the socio-cultural and economic implications of mass tourism, theory of space and place, and critiques of modernity and postmodernity. INDEX WORDS: Tourism, Immigration, Modernity, Identity, Space and place, Citizen activism, Tradition, Chinese, Venice, Italy POLITICAL THEATRE IN PUBLIC SPACES: MANIFESTING IDENTITY IN VENICE, ITALY by IVEY R. TAPP A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2012 Copyright by Ivey Raine Tapp 2012 POLITICAL THEATRE IN PUBLIC SPACES: MANIFESTING IDENTITY IN VENICE, ITALY by IVEY R. TAPP Committee Chair: Emanuela Guano Committee: Jennifer Patico Kathryn A. Kozaitis Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2012 DEDICATION A Venezia. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS/RINGRAZIAMENTI To the members of Venessia.com. You opened your hearts, minds, and lives to me, and showed me how to diventare veneziana. For your hospitality, eloquence, and the many pizzas, coffees, and spritzes (the fuel of my research!), grazie mille. To my professors, most especially Dr. Emanuela Guano, Dr. Jennifer Patico, Dr. Kathryn Kozaitis, Dr. Gregory Gullette, Dr. Faidra Papavasiliou, and Dr. Frank Williams. You have taught me so much academically, professionally, and personally. I deeply admire and respect you as mentors and as exceptional minds. For your wisdom, putting up with me for far too long, and seeing in me the potential I myself was unaware I harbored, grazie mille. To my friends and family who have been endlessly abundant with logistical, emotional, and mental support. To save me from ranking, I alphabetize you: Raffaele Aimo, Wolfgang Backer, Tiffany Blanton, Rebecca Calvetti, Stefano Camatti, Erasmo Castellani, Helen Ding, Michaelanne Dye, Kristopher Eby, Ashley Everhart, Gloria Geretto, Mariela Gonzales, Joshua Gulotta, Judy Host, Heather Kerr, Elisa Lanari, Justin Michael, Kelly Murray, Gilda Neri, Alessandro Pietrobon, Caterina Presti, Cristina Roman, Alberto dei Rossi, Amanda Watkins, and Kelley Young, grazie mille. Kyle Mayer, did you think I forgot you? You got your own line. To say, “What would I have done without you?” is an understatement. You know what you did. Grazie mille. Finally, and most importantly, to my loving, supportive, and patient parents, Eddie Tapp and Debra Toli. No two people deserve more credit for allowing this thesis to be mentally, emotionally, or logistically possible. You have made me who I am, and allowed me the spaces and opportunities to understand what that means. I am filled with appreciation, gratitude, and solidarity every time I recognize pieces of you in me. Grazie mille. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF IMAGES viii 1 – Introduction 1 1.1 Setting the Scene: The Inauguration of Veniceland 1 1.2 Background of Venessia.com 4 1.3 History of Tourism in Venice 8 1.4 Methodology 13 1.5 Mass Tourism, Neo-Colonialism, and Space and Place 17 2 – Mapping Venice 27 2.1 Placing History in Venice 27 2.2 Staging Postmodern Venice 30 2.3 A Tale of Three Zones: Creating a “Spatial Narrative” in Venice 35 3 – Narratives of Change and Loss in the Lagoon 46 3.1 Sociality and Nostalgia in Lieux de Mémoires 46 3.2 Low Quality Mass Tourism 52 3.3 Fast-Capitalism: Consolidation of the Local Economy and Technological 56 Advances 4 – Respecting and Protecting the Venetian Way of Being 61 4.1 Others in Venice 61 4.2 Tradition and Suspicion 64 4.3 The Value of Venezianità 70 5 – Conclusion 72 vi REFERENCES 74 APPENDICES 86 vii LIST OF IMAGES Image 1.1 – The Inauguration of Veniceland 3 Image 1.2 – The Social Zones of Venice 12 Image 2.1 – Map of Venice and Mestre 30 Image 2.2 – The Social Zones of Venice, Expanded 33 Image 2.3 – Map of Veniceland 37 Image 3.1 – Picnic on a Well 54 Image 4.1 – Welcome to Veniceland 60 1 - Introduction 1.1 Setting the Scene: The Inauguration of Veniceland Just before noon on a cloudy mid-November day, a blue, black and yellow topa (a flat-bottomed lagoon boat) makes its way down the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Normally blending into the steady water traffic of tassi, gondole, and vaporetti1, today a local band, La Ghenga Fuoriposto, sports black sunglasses and Mickey Mouse ears while performing a satirical song about the increasingly dismal theme-park existence that plagues the historic lagoon city. The boat encroaches upon its final destination: the foot of the controversial Calatrava Bridge,2 where La Ghenga reprises the song “Venezia 2020”3 (for lyrics, see Appendix A). As the bluesy tune livens the atmosphere, other boats arrive, and characters in vibrant, Disney-like costumes disembark and gather under a large blue and yellow banner brandishing the name “Veniceland”. A larger-than-life emcee brings a megaphone to his mouth. He welcomes visitors to this fantasy fun land, where all can rest and snack, and all sorts of accessories will be accessible at any price, in every corner of the park. In this unforgettable, dream-like atmosphere where “the real protagonist is you!” a young boy asks the charismatic blond woman dressed as Minnie Mouse, “Where is Veniceland?” and receives a hearty laugh in response. With all the pomp and ceremony surrounding this 1 water taxis, gondolas, and water busses. 2 Nicknamed the Calatrava Bridge for its architect, Santiago Calatrava, the Ponte della Costituzione (Bridge of the Constitution) might be perceived as the unofficial “entrance” to Venice, as it connects incomers from the bus traffic of the Piazzale Roma station to the thoroughfare that leads most directly down to the main tourist sites and heart of the city. The fourth and most recent bridge (2008) to cross the Grand Canal (all except the Rialto Bridge were built in the 20th century), the Calatrava is largely disliked for its sleek modern design and material, generally perceived as incongruous with the iconic Venetian Gothic architecture surrounding it, and slippery and awkwardly spaced steps. The greatest outrage for tax-paying citizens, however, was the exorbitant final cost of the production – well above and beyond its original €6.7 million. 3 The music video for this song, including footage from this particular performance, can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wbn1wG80Ik. 1 theatrical event, it’s hard to blame the boy—or any of the adults wondering the same thing, for that matter—for believing this “Veniceland” to be a true theme park, built for his pleasure and entertainment.4 This is the second grand manifestazione, or theatrical protest, of Venessia.com, following 2010’s popular Funeral for Venice, which sardonically mourned the cultural death of Venice. The Inauguration of Veniceland in 2011 calls attention to the result of that death—the state of Venice as a theme park, a living museum, a backdrop for the dreams and adventures of tourists and financial pursuits of immigrants, while residents are condemned to either leave the city or remain on as figuranti—extras, characters, simply figures comprising the dreamlike experience for its transient visitors. Spectators are further informed that not only Murano glass is available, but ‘precious’ Chinese glass as well. After wishing visitors a fun stay in this park of dreams, he presents the key to the Mistress of Ceremonies, who taunts and teases as she takes her time cutting the tricolor ribbon. Prosecco bottles are popped and the effervescent white wine is served all around. Balloons are doled out to wide-eyed children or released into the air, smiles are captured on the faces of those who “take a shot” at being a Venetian in the life-size cardboard cut-out of a gondolier, and all are directed to the ticket counter, where a mouse-ear-clad worker hands out maps and brochures. The Inauguration of Veniceland uses the premise of a theme park existence to call attention to the pressing issues that have led Venice to its current state: a combination of poorly managed mass tourism, rapidly increasing international migration, and a declining 4 For a thorough historic and logistic depiction of Disneyland in the US, see Stephen M. Fjellman’s Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America.

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