The ObserverGiorgio Suppiej was badly beaten up when he campaigned for Venice to break away from its mainland borough, Mestre, in 1979. “It took me two months to recover.”That referendum was unsuccessful, as were subsequent ones in 1989, 1994 and 2003. “Venice is furious,” said Suppiej, whose experience in 1979 only made him more determined to fight for autonomy. Venice’s population has fallen from about 175,000 in the post-World War II years to 55,000 today. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro is vehemently against the referendum and even took legal action to try to block it, despite promising a vote in his 2015 election campaign.

Source: Taipei Times December 01, 2019 15:56 UTC