"I am a maniac for islands", confesses Enric Bou, a Venetian by adoption, to Venice. City of Losses (Editorial UB). The lagoon city is made up of one hundred and nineteen islands. The first inhabitants, emerging from the spoils of the Roman Empire, took refuge from the Hun and Germanic invaders in the lagoon, on islands such as Torcello, where the oldest church stands, and on Rialto (Rivoalto, high bank), where the famous bridge now stands (there are more than 500 bridges in the entire city).

It seems to me that what happens in Venice will happen to the rest of the world. Look, for example, at the spritz, that orange drink –Aperol (for non-Venetians)– or red –Campari or Select (for Venetians)–. From a local custom, it has become a global phenomenon that, at times, becomes disgusting, especially if you see some tourists who, while having dinner, drink one without thinking that the spritz is only taken as an aperitif.

Barcelona and Venice, both cities tailored to human scale, are among the most touristic in Europe (London and Paris are megacities, a different category). Two cities that face the sea, with a Mediterranean sensuality. They don't renounce either pleasure or culture: architecture, cuisine, painting, film, literature... They tend towards aesthetic affectation; they would like to be roguish but have become... mainstreamTwo cities with more history than future? Narcissistic nostalgia is their worst enemy. They look in the mirror and like what they see: Barcelona, proud and self-absorbed; Venice, presumptuous and decadent. They look in the mirror and hate each other: where will our children end up? We feel a love-hate relationship with tourism, with the expadosbecause of the cosmopolitanism of exquisite luxury. But what would we do without so much wealth? And what will we do with poverty? nascosta And outrageous? Can cities full of palaces function without social mobility?

Many people have the memory of a family member putting on an old vinyl or CD and playing it. The four seasons by Antonio Vivaldi on a weekend morning. Many people have learned to play an instrument thanks to the Venetian's compositions. And you don't have to be an expert in classical music to recognize his spring.