Venice citizens protest against tourists

(ANSA) - Venice, July 3 - Venice on Sunday protested against a tourist influx they say is turning the lagoon city into a huge hotel that is too expensive for ordinary Venetians to live in.
    Hundreds of people carried placards in St Mark's Square saying the number of tourists should be restricted and traditional shops helped to stop them joining the scores that have been turned into knick-knack stores and mini-marts.
    The placards read, in Venetian dialect, 'Mi no vado via' (I'm not leaving), vowing not to join the residents' exodus despite the swelling tourist numbers.
    Quizzed by Corriere della Sera on the protest Monday, regional heritage and tourism pointwoman Renata Codello proposed an "intelligent" limit on access to St Mark's Square and a tax on B&B clients.
    "The relationship between residents and tourists is a problem", she said, "but the city is reacting".