The Gritti Palace, a historic palace in Venice, transformed into a luxury hotel, recently hosted the opulent wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. Once the residence of Venetian nobility, the 15th-century palace boasts extravagant features like Murano glass chandeliers and polychrome Italian marble. The article reflects on Venice's historical significance as a major port and center for global commerce, contrasting its previous wealth with its present reality as a tourist destination filled with romanticized history, which historian Dennis Romano describes as 'an amusement park.'
"Modern Venice is 'an amusement park'... It's a living museum of what the Renaissance-era tradesmen bought, defined by its ostentation and swagger as a former center of global commerce."
"Venice became important not because of what it made but because of what you could buy there, benefiting from a magical synergy that resonates with today’s wealthd elite."
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