Titian's Gold

Venice was a commercial tourist city, but the locals were actually deeply dissatisfied with the tourism industry.

As a coastal city, Venice saw more and more massive cruise ships carrying thousands upon thousands of tourists sail in. There was no room for those enormous vessels to dock in the lagoon, and they could easily damage the local environment. Their huge displacement was also invisibly damaging the foundations of the old buildings.

The passengers would wander around on shore for a little while, then return to the ship to sleep at night. That did little for the local economy, too. They only had a few hours ashore and rarely spent money in shops or restaurants.

Take selfies, eat pizza, and ride a gondola for a little while—that was everything tourists came to Venice for.

Apart from tourism, Venice offered few opportunities for young people. Non-tourist shops such as butchers, fruit and vegetable sellers, and fishmongers were closing down, while traditional crafts like oar-making and painting masks had nearly vanished. As a result, many local young people did not want to stay in Venice, that romantic city of love in other people's eyes.

Out-of-control tourism was destroying the locals' lives. People who came to Venice for only a few hours would never know that.

Monica was saving up for university tuition. She wanted to study fashion design in Milan, but Alicia thought she was daydreaming. There had been many artists in Titian's era, yet he was the only one who became famous. Countless others had remained unknown their entire lives and still had not gained fame years after their deaths.

Alicia thought Monica ought to be more practical. Young girls who ventured into complicated society could easily be deceived and end up like her—a single mother raising a child.

"Do you think