If you love Venice, please read this.

The same was for the Duomo in Milan when I visited in September. There were advertisements hung all over the front on the scaffolding and it really took away from the beauty of the church and, and made it look like a cheap billboard. Still, I understand that its pays for the repairs so I hope its going to be only until they are completed.

Maggie - Thanks for the update. I did not realize it had changed and thought previously it was a clever way to hide the construction. Michelle

I went to Venice on October the 11th and I already saw a few advertisements on a few building along the Grand canal.
What a pitty! To cover all that great arhitecture with "crappy posters".

Nadine, I just got back from Milan, and noticed that! What a sin that is! Also in front of the Duomo square, there was a temporary building for a rock and roll museum, and it's bright red! How horrible!!
I'm sorry to know this is happening in Venice! I was going to Venice, but it didn't work out because my business in Milan took longer than expected.

Well, someone has to pay for all those renovations. Just as a question, how many of you put a donation in the boxes that are in all of the cathedrals, etc. that are there to be used for renovation purposes? I know I never do when I have been out traveling around Europe, except for once in a small church in Normandy. When I am in the cathedral in Frankfurt, I seldom see anyone put a donation in the box that is labeled for that purpose. Most cathedrals are free, but the cost to renovate a building that is hundreds of years old is extremely high. When you look at Venice and their problems with water and sinking buildings, the costs must be astronomical. Perhaps we all need to start throwing a couple euros in those donation boxes? Just a thought.

Very good point, Jo. I do put money in the boxes in the church especially as there is no admittance charge but there are many who don't because I guess they never think of repairs or renovations to upkeep these architectural gems, and perhaps feel its not their responsibility anyway. But of course art belongs to us all.

You make an excellent point there, Jo. Hopefully I won't sound like 'Miss Goody Two Shoes', but I do actually put money in those boxes, and for the very reasons you cite; however, I know a lot of people walk on by.

The thing is, and speaking personally, the main reason I visit Venice is because it's so beautiful and atmospheric. These ads really spoil that beauty, and they're appearing everywhere. For example, the Bridge of Sighs now appears to be suspended between 2 giant car commercials.

I wish now that I had taken some photos, so I could have posted them on a blog.

It was my wife's third time there this October and she now feels like they sold out.

I guess now we have a lovely picture of the Bridge of Sighs with a car ad on it. sigh

They should do what some of the California Missions do to raise money for upkeep and renovation. At the entrance put a sign saying that while admission is free, a $1 donation is suggested to help with the upkeep and renovation of this mission. People put money in.

I for one have to disagree. I don't find this disappointing in the least. Also, by no means do I think any person or town is "selling out". Most people in any field who have been accused of selling out are doing nothing more than attempting to catch up, if not get ahead for reasonable purposes I believe. Venice has millions of feat stomping and destroying every horizontal surface. Millions of tourists using transportation causing untold billions of wakes doing catastrophic damage. And forget about trying to imagine the damage done by the natural and man-made environmental issues. It's folly to think the occasional coin deposited in a tiny box will pay for squat. These billboards are not destroying the beauty of anything, we have all done that quite well ourselves. These billboards are a means to fix these issues for the ages. Be disappointed that you had to witness a billboard, be happy that your grand-children won't.

Josh, you could say the same thing about the National Parks in the US. Yosemite and Yellowstone are trampled, trashed and polluted every year by millions of tourists. Do you think that the US Parks Service should allow companies to place giant car ads on El Capitan or Old Faithful? In their case taxes, user fees, government funding and support groups help fund the region and keep it clean and well maintained. I assure that given the chance, these ads will not go away because they generated enough revenue to fix Venice's problems at some undefined point in the future.

Sure, I cannot judge the citizens for wanting to create more revenue for their city and home, but since they rely on tourism as their main source of income, it seems in folly that they would use a mechanism that appears so lame and anti-tourist. There are other means to advertise to tourists and visitors, like covering the vaparettos like our buses here in North America with ads for starters.

Jon, you make some points. However, the Dept. of the Interior does allow giant advertisements in Yellowstone and Yosemite, in the form of giant golden arches and signs with large letters like "KFC". The Parks Dept. takes a cut from all vendors and charges users fee's beginning at the gate. Maybe Venice and the rest should charge entrance fee's beginning at the train station, and actually collect taxes on the money we spend. Since this would certainly not happen, advertising seems worth a try. Putting the revenues from these signs into the buildings and not pockets may well be a problem, but if tourism is their ATM it would be wise to fix the place first and skim later. I hear what your saying but I have never looked at the side of a boat in the Grand Canal, I like you look up.

These are not just advertising billboards, they are the covers for the scaffolding. If a building has to be covered up while it is repaired, the city feels it might as well earn some money from it. I have to say, I have seen a lot of these, and though know from a tourist standpoint it messes up your photos, they can be clever looking and I really don't mind them. Our cathedral had one for the longest time, I can't remember what it was for, but the whole steeple had roses on it. Did it look like the church underneath it. No, but it was cool looking. They have been renovating this church in some way or another since over 20 years, so it is often covered up for months at a time. I imagine Venice and Rome, etc. are the same way.

Comparing National Parks and old buildings seems kind of strange. They have 2 very different problems though both caused by people. I doubt if a mountain will be in danger of collapsing if too many people walk on it.