Crossroads Roundup: Venice Implements a Visitor's Fee, the Louvre Considers Moving the "Mona Lisa," and Several Prominent Burials Discovered

Our favorite stories on art, archaeology, folklore, and more from this past week.

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The Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. View from the Accademia bridge. Via Wikimedia Commons.

In response to overwhelming tourism, the city of Venice will be implementing a €5 entrance fee.

The fee only applies to the day-trippers: an average of 80,000 people visit Venice each day, and a majority of them arrive on cruise ships. The city has a population of about 250,000 residents, so that extra 80,000 makes a massive difference. Having been to Venice twice (once via cruise ship, and once staying overnight), I can confirm that the experience is drastically different at night. The city is far more peaceful, with the vast majority of visitors having dissipated.

When I first stumbled upon this headline, I assumed that the people of Venice might welcome this change. But as it turns out, many Venetians are concerned that Mayor Luigi Brugnaro’s decision will transform the city into a “theme park” and damage its reputation.