‘We ask you to imagine the disappointment that the 17.5 million visitors to Venice this year will feel. They come to this iconic city with an image of it in their mind’s eye and instead they see its famous views grotesquely defaced.’

The Bridge of Sighs is barely visible underneath the advertising billboards

In a blunt retort to the critics, mayor Giorgio Orsoni said: ‘If people want to see the building they should go home and look at a picture of it in a book.’

Found this link while researching the billboards around Piazza San Marco in Venice.

The billboards truly are awful.

When we were there I charitably guessed that they covered worker’s scaffolding. But no. They are there to raise money to pay for the renovation of some of the buildings. 2.8 million euros for Doge’s palace alone.

But when bilboards like this cover up almost every square inch of a landmark (like the Bridge of Sighs, above) it’s … to quote the art critics in the article … grotesque.