“The wedding mingled festivity with competitive ostentation and more than a touch of regal pomp. The bridegroom and his groomsmen rode in procession through the city … A bridge of boats had been constructed across the Grand Canal to bring them to the bride’s house, where L was escorted by no fewer than 60 bridesmaids.”
Activists from “No Space For Bezos” and Venetian residents at a public meeting in Campo San Giacometo square.Credit: Bloomberg
This is not, as it happens, a sneak preview of the wedding rehearsal of the world’s third-richest man, Jeff Bezos, and his bride-to-be: the helicopter pilot and occasional astronaut Lauren Sanchez. It’s a description of the marriage on January 29 1441 of Jacopo Foscari, son of the doge of Venice, and Lucrezia Contarini.
The Bezos bash, to be held over several days this week, will certainly rival the banqueting, jousting and processions to the sound of trumpets that enlivened the Foscari-Contarini do.
Activists from “No Space For Bezos” and Venetian residents at a public meeting in Venice.Credit: Bloomberg
As the Bezos yachts bear down on La Serenissima and the bride’s reported 27 couture wedding outfits jostle for wardrobe space, the city’s luxury hotels have been block-booked for some 200 of the couple’s closest friends – expected to include a clutch of Trumps, Bezos’s fellow masters of the tech universe, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, and Oprah Winfrey.
Venice’s centuries-old expertise in hosting blingy weddings ensured that when George and Amal Clooney were married there a decade ago, everything went stylishly to plan, with guests including Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Anna Wintour providing a sheen of Hollywood glamour that was a welcome distraction from a mayoral corruption scandal.
Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos on his yacht off Portofino in 2023.Credit: GC Images
But the times are more fretful now, and the Venetian mood distinctly less indulgent towards rich visitors who take over their city as the setting for a fabulous wedding video. Complaining that the mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, disregards the interests of Venetians, activists have hung “No Space for Bezos” banners from the Rialto Bridge and the bell tower of the San Giorgio Maggiore basilica.
The Venetian demonstrations are the latest manifestation of a growing anti-tourist sentiment which has been spreading steadily across Europe. There have been protests this month against mass tourism in Spain, Italy and Portugal as residents of popular destinations complain that over-tourism and the proliferation of short-term holiday lets, such as Airbnb, have turned their cities into amusement parks, destroyed their culture and traditions, driven residents and businesses from their neighbourhoods.
