Strike called off against canal regulations imposed by Venice City Council

After a 3-day strike by commercial transport boats and taxis in Venice in protest against new regulations for Grand Canal traffic imposed by Venice City Council, an agreement was reached late afternoon on 15 November 2013. The strike started on 13 November and the strikers had indicated they were prepared to persist. A meeting between … Continue reading

Veneto Court rejects national restrictions on cruise ships navigating Venice lagoon

The Veneto regional court (TAR) accepted a request to suspend restrictions on large cruise ships passing through the Venetian lagoon on 17 March 2014. The request had been submitted by the organisation Venice Terminal Passengers (VTP) that manages passengers for the Port of Venice, in addition to several companies working in the port and a … Continue reading

Negative demonstrations against cruise ships in Venice

Demonstrations took place in Venice on 21 September 2013 against 12 cruise ships that were scheduled to pass through the Venetian lagoon during a busy weekend for tourism in the city. Cruise ships navigated the lagoon before and after the protests. About 100 demonstrators started the day by vandalising the cruise passenger welcome area at … Continue reading

Venice needs a subway, not Mayor Orsoni’s “discipline”, “sacrifices” and 26 new canal regulations

Following the tragic crash between a gondola and water bus on Venice’s Grand Canal on 17 August 2013, Venice City Council proposed 26 new regulations on 26 August. The accident killed German university lecturer Jaochim Vogel and threw his family into the water, leading to minor head injuries to his 3-year old daughter. This was … Continue reading

Venice’s ‘MOSE’ mobile dams; First test for 4 barriers successful

Four mobile barriers of Venice’s dam project have been tested at the North Lido inlet where the Venetian lagoon meets the Adriatic Sea. This test was successfully completed on 12 October 2013 and images of the first four of a total 78 barriers can be viewed in this link: Mose, si alzano le prime paratoie … Continue reading

New York Review of Books regurgitates pessimism about the death of Venice, climate alarmism and prejudices about tourists

A new article, ‘The Coming Death of Venice?’, by Anna Somers Cocks about Venice in the New York Review of Books regurgitates pessimism about the death of the city, climate alarmism and the usual prejudices about tourism. The death of Venice is a remarkably unoriginal subject. It was an emergent theme when Venetians suffered from … Continue reading

Challenging Venice’s etiquette rules which penalize residents and tourists

This year anti-tourism campaigns and attempts to regulate tourists in Venice have reached new heights. I strongly advised against discriminating against tourists in my book, Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and Reality (2012). Apart from the possible economic impact of being negative towards tourists, we are all people, residents are sometimes tourists too and tourists … Continue reading

Film of Manchester Salon debate: Modernisation, development and conservation

Modernisation, development and conservation Dominic Standish, Angela Connelly, Tom Jarman and Alex Solk opened up ‘sustainable development’ to some critical thinking, chaired by Jane Leach. This debate was organised by Manchester Salon, partnered by Manchester Society of Architects and was hosted at Manchester School of Architecture on 24 April 2013. The debate addressed topics of … Continue reading

Book review of Roger Scruton’s ‘Green Philosophy’: weaknesses in thinking seriously about the planet

This is my review of Roger Scruton’s book ‘Green Philosophy. How to Think Seriously About the Planet’. The review was published by the Manchester Salon website on 22 April 2013 and I will be one of the speakers at a debate at the Salon on 24 April 2013. See this link to the debate: Modernisation, … Continue reading

Paper published about Venice and Italy: Renewables Policy as a Barrier to Energy Innovation

This academic paper by Dominic Standish has been published in the journal Energy and Environment, Vol. 23, No. 6 & 7, 2012. The full text of the paper is available using the publisher’s website here: Italy: Renewables Policy as a Barrier to Energy Innovation This is the abstract of the paper: Italy’s limited natural energy … Continue reading

  • Banner Image

    The banner image displayed at the top of each page on this website is adapted from the painting 'Ancient and Modern' by Patrick Hughes. I would like to thank him for generously offering this painting for use on this website.