Promoted by sections of the right as the symbol of a new generation ready to challenge Italy’s progressive cultural establishment, Venezi instead became a lightning rod in a broader debate over whether the government’s cultural agenda relied too heavily on political symbolism.

Andrea Martella, the center-left candidate for mayor and currently an MP for the Democratic Party, argued the controversies surrounding both La Fenice and the Biennale had damaged the city’s standing.

“With both, there was a short circuit between Rome and Venice which ended up humiliating the institutions,” Martella said. “In a city like Venice, this carries enormous weight, because culture is not only part of the past but also the present and future of this extraordinary community: its identity, work, prestige and capacity to attract talent.”

While Venice has become symbolically important in national politics, the center-right’s candidate for mayor and current councilor for tourism, Simone Venturini, argued that disputes over the city’s cultural institutions mattered far less to ordinary voters than to political and media circles.

“These are issues tied to a bubble connected to the national media and a certain Venetian milieu,” Venturini told POLITICO. “The controversies have largely been fueled by national political battles.”

He defended the outgoing administration’s management of tourism pressures, arguing his administration did more to shield the sinking city of Venice from the worst effects of overtourism than had been done in the previous 50 years, including entry fees for day tourists and restrictions on converting palazzos into hotels.