Ok, so if you declared your love in Venice by attaching a small padlock to any bridge, be prepared for the removal of your lucchetti dell’amore. They have removed some 600 last week and are prepared to remove the more than 2,500 on the Accademia bridge alone. But, it seems they reappear almost as fast as they are removed. (See Previous Post)
( Looking through the Bridge to the Franchetti Palazzo) Some locals are outraged over what they consider to be vandalism. Frankly, I find it charming. Now I often write the Don’t Do this list for tourist which is basically about having respect for the older local population. Do not throw trash into the canals nor rubbish on the streets. Do not sit on someone’s doorstep eating your Panini. Do not sit in the spaces on the boat reserved for the elderly or pregnant, surely you can see the pictures and understand. Do not talk about the locals as though they do not have ears or understand and speaking louder will not help translations! But the idea that two people pledge their love for each other on a bridge somehow just does not fit in my Do Not list. The Venetians do become jaded with the tourist. However they do want and need the tourist and the money they bring. So, knowing the practical Venetian, I am amazed that they have not found a way to save the locks, all the while making money on it. By now they should know they can’t beat this fad, so they should just consider how to capitalize on it. (I’ll let you know whey they do!)