Venetians fear becoming ‘museum relics’ as population drops to 50,000

Campaigners say Italian city's remaining residents feel suffocated' by effects of tourism

The remaining inhabitants of Venice's historic centre said they fear becoming like relics in an open museum" now that the population is expected to drop below 50,000 for the first time.

Once the heart of a powerful maritime republic, Venice's main island has lost more than 120,000 residents since the early 1950s, driven away by myriad issues but mainly a focus on mass tourism that has caused the population to be dwarfed by the thousands of visitors who crowd its squares, bridges and narrow walkways each day.