Venice – it looks so old, so preserved, so of another time. And it is. But it has been a battle – between those who believe it should always look the way it looked and those who wanted the city to evolve. So Venice now sits a prisoner of the past – but not really. Like all theme parks, Venice must be maintained and restored to keep the illusions alive. “In 1966 a great flood deluged Venice, and when it was repaired it looked exactly as it had done. After decades of restoration it looks as well as it ever has. Its international audience luxuriates in Venice. But the numbers of tourists rise uncontrollably and the city is flooded with monotonous regularity.”