Back in the eighties there was a famous song in Italy by bad boy Vasco Rossi. It went: "bevi la Coca-Cola che ti fa bene, bevi la Coca-Cola che ti fa digerire... con tutte quelle, tutte quelle bollicine...Coca-Cola si', Coca-Cola a me mi fa impazzire!" Drink Coca-Cola, it's good for you, drink Coca-Cola it helps you digest... with all those little bubbles... Coca-Cola, yeah! Coca-Cola drives me crazy!" Only problem was, Vasco wasn't actually supporting the drink, but another popular product that goes by the same nickname.But Venice philosopher-mayor Massimo Cacciari seems to have taken all this literally and been driven mad by our wealthy friends in Atlanta. As revealed by the Turin daily La Stampa, the mayor wants to raise over 2 million euros by allowing Co-Cola (as they refer to it down there- I lived in Atlanta) to set vending machines in Venice. They would sell not only soft drinks (which I am strongly against) but snacks. Many of the machines would be at the major vaporetto landings.
Having lived in the area, I actually saw Cacciari a couple of times. Once in the center of Padua and once walking along the Zattere in Venice. He is quite the ascetic- surely does not consume Co-Cola and potato chips on a regular basis, if ever. I can't believe that he would do this, and I can't believe he's surprised at the protests. The decision isn't final yet; I hope it won't go through.
Update, 3/3/2009. Cacciari has unexpectedly backed off from the imminent Coke deal and is now open to bids. But he still insists on the vending machine idea. A decision should be forthcoming by the end of the month. Unless he changes his mind again.
