Venice council invites bids from sponsors to support the city's restoration of monuments
Venice's Rialto Bridge is to be partially draped with advertising as the city seeks €5m (£4m) for desperately needed restoration. Venice council is inviting bids from would-be sponsors, who in return will be able to hang their adverts on hoardings cloaking the bridge during work, as well as hold events in St Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace.
As Venice's monuments suffer increasing wear and tear from rising tides and mass tourism, the city has pinned its hopes on sponsors supporting the restoration, but it faced protests in 2010 when it covered the Bridge of Sighs with a temporary Coca-Cola hoarding as it was being restored, earning it the nickname "The bridge of signs".
Venice's public works assessor, Alessandro Maggioni, said only a quarter of the Rialto, built in 1591, would be covered with hoardings at any one time, and only a third of the hoardings' overall area would feature advertising.
The restoration work is expected to last 18 months and is due to wrap up in April 2015, while Venice's Academy Bridge would be next in line for sponsored restoration, he added.
"If someone wants to criticise this, they can ring me, hand over €5m to the town hall and we won't put the ads up."