Letter: Venice with a plague of garish toadstools

Sir: Years ago Spike Milligan used the power of the press to stop an ugly, inappropriate streetlighting scheme in Constitution Hill. Could you, Sir, and through you, your readers, do something now to stop the hideous lamp standards painted in garish yellow and blue which are being set up on the causeway linking Venice to the mainland?

A group of young professional Venetians discussing them last night said there had been no design competition, no consultation or publicity, and what is worse,

so far no protest - they just started appearing like toadstools overnight.

Anyone who has crawled across the causeway in winter fog will welcome more efficient lighting on this busy road, but not these appalling objects. They are more suited to the theme park into which doubtless Mr Berlusconi, with his 44 per cent stake in the brand new venture Venezia Eventi (a company set up with Venice city council to 'manage' traditional festivities such as the Regata Storica and the Redentore), intends to transform

Venice.

Just picture it: Marco Polo, Casanova, Byron, Wagner, all packaged in day-glo colours. Please

do something to prevent it

happening.

Yours faithfully,

CLAUDIA DE LOTBINIERE

Campea di Miane,

Treviso

Italy

8 July