Venice: Local People are Leaving says BBC

I have been to Venice once and though I was alone there, I was still enchanted with it. So I read this BBC report with a lot of curosity that the local people find the city unaffordable.

Many of the families who lived in Venice for generations are moving out.

House prices are impossibly high - empty apartments and buildings have been snapped up by wealthy hoteliers - and young people can no longer afford the cost of living.

"Almost half my friends have disappeared," said Mattia. "This is now one of the only ways to earn a living in Venice.

The easiest thing to do here is to run a guesthouse. If you want a profession or a career you have to move away."

Over the past 50 years, thousands have taken part in this collective disappearing act.

The population of the historic centre of Venice has fallen from 171,000 residents in 1951 to fewer than 62,000.

Officials say the exodus shows no signs of abating - another 8,000 are predicted to follow in the next 10 years.

But as Venetians leave, the tourists continue to arrive. Eighteen million tourists come to Venice every year.