Latest news with #Altreconomia
The Independent
7 days ago
- The Independent
Abandoned island in Venice to become a haven for locals seeking escape from tourism
Venetian activists will transform part of an abandoned island into a public park, where locals can escape the millions of tourists that visit the city each year. The grassroots group, named Poveglia per Tutti (Poveglia for Everyone), said it had received permission from the Italian government to transform the island of Poveglia into a public lagoon park from 1 August. Residents and supporters across Italy have campaigned for more than a decade to save the historically significant but decaying island from neglect and privatisation. Campaigners say the project aims to create a 'public lagoon park open to all,' managed collectively through 'practices of subsidiarity and active participation.' Patrizia Veclani, one of the founders of the group, has told local outlet Altreconomia earlier this year that Poveglia per Tutti would prioritise building an 'accessible and safe landing place' and creating 'a way to reach the island without overtaking it with tourism'. They hope this model could serve as an alternative vision for Venice, where locals say they are struggling to cope with overtourism. The city has recently introduced measures like entry fees to curb tourist pressure, while residents warn of losing public space and a strain on local infrastructure. Cruise ships have been banned from entering the Venice lagoon and main Giudecca Canal since August 2021 – a move welcomed by Unesco after repeated warnings that the large vessels were damaging the iconic city. But after a brief trial last year, Venice also recently reintroduced its day-tripper tax, charging tourists not staying on the islands €5 to visit. From April this year, tourists are now charged €10 for that privilege unless they book at least four days in advance. Poveglia was once used as a quarantine site for people with plague and other infectious diseases. It was later converted into a mental hospital. The hospital shut its doors in 1968, and the island has remained abandoned ever since. Poveglia per Tutti has set aside around €300,000 for the first phase of the project and plans to seek further funding. It has also partnered with the University of Verona to study the social impact of redevelopment, aiming to create a blueprint for community-led management of public assets. The group said in a statement that the success of the project is due to 'thousands of members, supporters, associations and organisations' who backed the vision, even from afar.' They urged people to volunteer, spread the word and help turn Poveglia into what they call 'a symbol of a new idea of managing community assets.' Venice's historic centre had more than 170,000 residents in 1954, according to city authorities. Last year, they were down to just over 49,000. Around 30 million tourists visit Venice in a typical year, with about seven out of 10 (or 21 million) staying only for the day.
Forbes
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Italy Spends $130,000 On First Migrant Deportation Flight To Egypt
A group of people arriving at Albania's Shengjin port, to be transferred to the Gjader detention ... More center. (Photo by Valeria Ferraro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Italy has reportedly deported a first batch of people from its offshore migration detention facility in Albania, with five Egyptian nationals apparently having been taken to Cairo on a chartered flight costing €113,850 ($132,133 at time of writing). Italian human rights and migration advocates have condemned the deportation, which took place on May 9th, for both the secrecy of the operation and for its being apparently an operation outside of Italy's direct jurisdiction, raising concerns over legality under Italian and European legal frameworks. As first reported by the Italian investigative magazine Altreconomia, on May 9th a chartered plane left Rome for Tirana, the capital of Albania, where it stayed for an hour and a half before leaving for Cairo, with five Egyptian nationals onboard who had previously sought shelter in Europe but had been intercepted and taken to the Gjader detention center, about 40 miles North of the capital. The deportation flight is unsurprising in itself, given Italy's well-known arrangement with Albania to interdict and detain irregular migrants there (at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars per year), rather than allow them to enter EU territory. It has however provoked a strong reaction from civil society groups, who accuse Italy of acting illegally. Under current EU law, member states are not allowed to conduct deportations outside of their own territory. At the same time, Italian legal expert Gianfranco Schiavone told Altreconomia that the flight is a violation of Italy's constitution as well, for the same reason. 'Direct (deportations) from Albania are illegitimate and in open contravention of the EU Return directive," said Rachele Scarpa, a member of the Italian parliament. "The Italian government needs to give explanations on this operation.' Migration and refugee advocates have also condemned the flight for putting those onboard at risk. Under EU law, member states are not allowed to send people back to a situation where they may face danger to their lives or wellbeing, a principle known as 'non-refoulement.' In practice however, 'danger' can be in the eye of the beholder, and the EU, as well as individual member states, have repeatedly attempted to assert Egypt is a safe place to deport people to. This does not accord, however, with the view of those who work with refugees. 'Egypt is not a safe country for returnees," said Nour Khalil with Refugee Platform Egypt. 'Thousands face arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, unfair trials, and persecution upon arrival. Torture is also common in police stations.' Khalil also says her group has documented cases of people who have died in prison after being forcibly returned to Egypt. A first step for the EU's future deportations regime This deportation flight is quite possibly a glimpse of what's to come for Italian, and EU, practice overall in the coming years. While such an extra-territorial deportation as this is not currently legal under EU law, that looks likely to change. Earlier in 2025, the European Commission announced its proposals for changing the law to allow member states to set up their own arrangements for deportation facilities such as under the Italy-Albania deal, known euphemistically as 'return hubs.' It is expected that legislation will also make such extra-territorial deportations legal. At the same time, both the EU and United Kingdom are known to be exploring ways to speed up deportations, including using visa and trade policy to exert pressure on developing countries to accept more deportation flights. if the EU makes extra-territorial deportations legal as part of an overall 'return hub' system, leaders and policymakers in many EU countries will likely advocate their countries begin sending people offshore. The Italian and Albanian Interior ministries did not respond to requests from Altreconomia about the May 9th deportation. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - elected largely on a platform of reducing the presence of irregular migrants in Italy - as well as ministers in her cabinet have long argued that there is a 'crisis' of irregular migration in the country, and scheme such as the Albania deal are an attempt to remedy this.
