Submitted by Bija Knowles on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:31
Next Saturday Venice will be holding its own funeral. As far as publicity stunts go, it's quite an unequivocal message that the city is on the brink. Only this time the threat is not from the rising tides and the island city's subsiding foundations; the danger comes in the form of the rapidly shrinking population – it seems that the Venetians are migrating to the mainland faster than you can say 'just one cornetto'.
According to one group of locals – members of the online community venessia.com - the population has now fallen below the threshold of 60,000 people (down from about 150,000 in 1960) and the city's inhabitants are being driven out of their ancestral homes by property, food and transport prices far higher than those on the mainland. The main reason for the soaring cost of living is the relentless flow of tourists to the small city. As a result the local Venetians are being priced out of their historical island city.
Altinum is thought to date back to the late Bronze Age and was on the strategic trade route between Rome and its eastern provinces around the Danube. It started to thrive under Roman occupation, although the inhabitants were from the Adriatic-Veneti tribe. At the beginning of the empire, the Via Claudia Augusta was built, which began at Altinum and reached the German limes of the northeast at the Danube, a distance of 350 miles. Due to its strategic and commercial importance, and also its sheltered location and mild climate (compared to the rest of northern Italy) Altinum became a favoured centre for the rich, and many luxurious villas were built.
The town was sacked by the Huns in 452 AD and much of its was burned beyond recognition. However, it wasn't until 568 that the Lombards invaded, finally pushing the inhabitants out onto the Venetian Lagoon. Altinum was abandoned, while the Veneti established new centres on the islands of the Lagoon - forming the modern city of Venice. The mainland site of Altinum is little more than a few corn fields these days - although there is a small village called Altino, just north of Marco Polo airport, which has 100 inhabitants.
