Venice has been written about, portrayed, sung about, and interpreted in every possible way. Yet it always seems elusive, as if it hides a secret that escapes us. It is its eternal charm that makes it somewhat dual in everything, as it is, after all, amphibious by nature. Deciding to live or stay in Venice allows you to appreciate its beautiful side, that of a city on the water, which is more like a village where everything can be reached on foot and children can run free through fields and streets. On the other hand, it also forces you to come to terms with its uglier side: the cost of living, the mass tourism that engulfs almost every corner, the housing crisis, and the depletion of services.
We talked about this with Valeria Necchio, writer, journalist, copywriter, and content editor, who has been living in Venice since 2021. She lives in the Castello district, a corner of the city that retains a sense of being a lived-in and vibrant place.
Venice is a bubble
When she arrived in Venice, Valeria didn't know anyone, but today she says she is deeply grateful to the city for the community she has managed to build around her.
"Living in Venice can sometimes feel like living in a pink bubble that absorbs you with its beautiful, unique lifestyle and abundance of things to do. Potentially, you could live like this forever, going from one place to another, enjoying everything the city has to offer without ever finding a good reason to leave the island. Instead, sometimes it is important to go out so as not to lose perspective on things."
Those who live in the city
When asked who lives in Venice today, Valeria replies that it is not easy to say at a glance, because the inhabitants mix with a large number of people passing through, whether they are workers, commuting students, or tourists. It often happens that those who live in Venice more or less permanently have their residence elsewhere, such as many students, digital nomads, or seasonal workers who only spend a few months or part of the year in the city.
Of course, there remains a small 'hard core' of inhabitants who were born and raised here, some families who have decided to stay, and many elderly people who would never leave the island. There are shopkeepers, gondoliers, taxi drivers, and many workers in the tourism and restaurant industries, but they do not necessarily live on the island. And finally, there is the group to which Valeria belongs, the one that for various reasons is most familiar to her: freelancers and independent professionals who, at some point in their adult lives, between the ages of 25 and 40, decided to call Venice 'home'. Thanks to the changes in the world of remote working that took place between 2020 and 2022, many people had the opportunity to move there, choosing it for its beauty and lifestyle.
These are often people who work in the arts, culture, or creative sectors; many have a propensity for networking, creating events, projects, or starting associations, all of which contribute to the cultural and social vitality of the city.
Choosing to stay despite everything
"One of the most pressing issues for the city of Venice is the housing crisis: there is a shortage of homes. Just think that at the moment there are about two thousand closed public housing units and no project to make them livable and assign them where they are needed."
In fact, the situation is getting worse every year. There is a lack of real political will to regulate short-term rentals (a problem that affects many other cities with high housing tension and is now a nationwide and international issue). The consequence is that the few homes rented for residential use are almost always rented on a temporary basis and at very high prices. Many apartments rented to residents or students have not been maintained for decades, while those who invest in renovations prefer to recoup their expenses by converting them into tourist rentals, when possible. The result is a vicious circle: without policies aimed at rebalancing the market, the scarcity of affordable housing will end up emptying the city of a fundamental part of its inhabitants.
"The housing issue is certainly the biggest obstacle Venice will have to face in order to renew itself, otherwise the socio-cultural fabric is destined to change permanently and the segment of people who live and work here permanently and nourish it daily with many enhancement initiatives will end up eroding more and more."
Versatile is a sprout
In a city like this, networking is essential, and the available spaces need to be reimagined and redesigned around a new concept of community.
Versatile is a work club opened in 2024 by six partners, including Valeria. It was conceived as a community of people who meet daily around work in a place where they can create new connections. As the name suggests, the environment is truly flexible: inside, there are classic desks and shared tables (hot desks), but also a meeting room, a small kitchen, and a sofa for reading. The spaces can also be shaped according to need, for events, professional meetings, or presentations.
"We are happy with how Versatile is going. The response has been really positive, both for desks and daily admissions, but also for events. The people who contact us and come to work here come from all over the world, reflecting the international nature of Venice, but also proving the existence of a community of creative and remote workers operating behind the scenes, as if it were an alternative reality to the classic facade of the hyper-touristic city."
Other projects
The Venice that emerges from Valeria's story is certainly complex, but vital. In addition to Versatile, another project that Valeria helped to create (together with eight other Venetian women by adoption) is How Do We Meet?, an association born from the desire to generate a collective response to the need for women to network, returning once again to talk about new forms of community. Here too, the idea is to provide examples and create opportunities for meeting and discussion on a variety of topics and to promote new ideas and personal and professional connections inside and outside Venice.
Another collaboration is the Edipo Re project which, starting from a historic boat of high cultural and symbolic value, aims to propose a model of sustainability and social inclusion in the city through projects
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cultural events that bring art and tourism into constant dialogue, such as Isola Edipo, a festival running parallel to the Venice Film Festival with an extensive program of free events on social and environmental issues.Finally, there is Inside Venice, a project born from the desire of the Romanelli family—a historic family of Venetian hoteliers—to create a less stereotypical and more intimate narrative of the city. Today, Inside Venice is a social media channel featuring vignettes of Venetian life, but also a hotbed of creative collaborations, editorials, and a platform for stories, interviews, and guides to get to know the city "from the inside," with which Valeria collaborates on an editorial level.
Where you can read Valeria
- She collects her thoughts in a romantic black and white newsletter called Watermarked
- She wrote Veneto – Recipes from an Italian Country Kitchen (Guardian Faber, 2017)
- She writes about food, travel, and culture for various national and international publications. You can find all her articles at valerianecchio.com
Some tips for further reading
You can explore the topics discussed with Valeria by following Osservatorio Ocio – Veneziaorlistening to the Caigo podcast on Spotify. For an unconventional guide to the city, we recommend The Passenger – Venezia (Iperborea 2023).
The photos of Venice are by Valeria Necchio
The photos of Versatile are by Camilla Glorioso
The photos of Valeria wearing Apollo jeans are by Giacomo Gandola
Valeria wears Apollo jeans in Indigo blue
Germogli is the new column dedicated to the stories of those who, like us, have decided to put their heart and soul into designing a dream. Every month, you can read a new story here.
