The Municipality of Venice is a conflict of two identities. The weight of history upon is it’s greatest source of identity, but also it’s greatest source of loss of identity. In Tommaso Cartia’s (2018) article about Italian art historian and author Salvatore Settis, he explores Settis’ recent book If Venice Dies. It is a cautionary tale of how the historical city core of Venice has lost it’s essence due to the migration of people away from the island and to the hinterland. Overtourization, inflated housing costs, and lack of job opportunities have reduced the historic island to an empty shell where the only job you can really have involves servicing the thousands of tourists who visit every year.

Most inhabitants of Venice flee to Mestre and Marghera, where the cost of life are lower and it’s transport networks more connected within itself and the region as a whole. Jane Archer’s (2017) article goes more into depth about this struggle over the soul of Venice, and the conflict that has defined the fight over it. This conflict of can be encapsulated in the treatment and perception of the cruise ships that pass through Venice. On one hand, Venetian residents and environmentalists alike argue that these ships cause pollution to the lagoon and are a an offense to the cultural heritage of Venice. Business leaders and elected officials however are worried that stopping the cruise ships from entering will hurt the city’s economy. How can these opposing sides come together in a compromise to solve these issues threatening their city and their way of life?

A place to begin would be to reduce the pressure of the cruise ships on the island and move it to another location, this place being the Porto Marghera. It is an industrial zoned port area that has slowly over time become abandoned and empty, and has ample space for a new cruise port which could serve the tourists. The tourists who come out of this port could potentially activate new development opportunities to the area and act as a gateway to Venice and the region. In order for this gateway to be supported, more transit flows need to be included by increasing the transportation network of the city. By connecting the Marco Polo airport to the tram network, both tourist and business interests could more efficiently access Venice, Marghera, and Mestre. Integrating the high-speed train which goes to the island could also have its ridership benefit from its connection to the airport as well.