UNLOCK YOUR LOVE FOR VENICE

SUPPORT VENICE PEOPLE ON THEIR FIGHT AGAINST LOVE LOCKS

04-09-2014: UPDATE – THE CAMPAIGN CONTINUES, NEW PROFILE PHOTOS

#unlockyourlove

02-09-2014: UPDATE: THE INITIATIVE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TILL 31ST DECEMBER 2014 – THE FIGHT CONTINUES – JOIN US IN SPREADING THE WORD – LOVE DOES NOT NEED TO BE LOCKED UP!

ROME: UNLOCK YOUR LOVE

01-09-2014: ROME JOINS VENICE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST LOVE LOCKS:

31-08-2014: LAST FEW HOURS OF FIGHT – MORE STARS SUPPORT #UNLOCKYOURLOVE

Maria Grazia Cucinotta supports #unlockyourlove photo © silvana di purto @silvanadipuorto

30-08-2014: THE BIG HOLLYWOOD STARS GIVE THEIR SUPPORT: PAUL WESLEY (The Vampire Diaries)

Paul Wesley supports #unlockyourlove photo © silvana di puorto @silvanadipuorto

29-08-2014: UPDATE:

AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PICTURE, THE LOCKS ARE UNLOCKING THEIR LOVE FOR VENICE!

VENICE: UNLOCK YOUR LOVE

28-08-2014: BIG UPDATE: THE STARS OF VENICE FILM FESTIVAL SUPPORT OUR INITIATIVE – WHAT ABOUT YOU???

Venice Film Festial stars support #unlockyourlove photo ©silvana di puorto @silvanadipuorto

UNLOCK YOU LOVE FOR VENICE

JOIN ALL VENETIANS AND ALL VENICE LOVERS IN THIS BEAUTIFUL AND SPONTANEOUS INITIATIVE TRYING TO STOP THOSE AWFUL LOCKS SPOILING ALL THE BRIDGES OF THIS HISTORIC CITY!

THIS IS AN INITIATIVE WHICH WAS BORN OUT OF LOVE FROM ALL VENETIANS FOR THEIR AMAZING CITY.

Little helper for #unlockyourlove

“UNLOCK YOUR LOVE”
A SPONTANEOUS ACTION OF VENETIANS
THE FIGHT AGAINST “LOCKS OF LOVE”

Unlocking the love from every chain, every lock, every rusty and stale claim making a stereotypical and unimaginative gesture to symbolize the beautiful and delicate union between two people. Liberating Venice from tons of junk which – having depressingly lost their symbolic significance – leave a legacy of dirt, problems and the opposite image of beauty for the city.

UNLOCK YOUR LOVE FOR VENICE

With “UNLOCK YOUR LOVE”, beginning today 24th August until next Sunday 31st August 2014, hundreds, perhaps thousands of Venetians, residents, and lovers of the city will affix in “sensitive”, vulnerable places, a notice in multiple languages depicting an open, heart-shaped padlock with an explanation that attaching the locks is against the love and leaves an undeserved legacy which weighs on the city.
They will go to school, to work, to the grocery store or to have a drink with friends. They will discourage visitors “in the moment”, but also let the world know that there are small, seemingly insignificant actions which are offensive to the history of a place and the people who live there. They will do this in the “greenest” way possible by limiting the use of adhesive tape, and using biodegradable materials such as paper and simple wire where appropriate, to minimize dirt and environmental pollution.
In this “estate horribilis”, Venice has seen it all: cars and bikes in the narrow calli, naked bathers in the canale, sun-bathers in the campi and along the fondamente, shitting and peeing, in open-air and in broad daylight in the most iconic places, dozens of children left by their parents to play in unclean water when the tides come up in Piazza San Marco … the result is a spontaneous initiative of “active resistance”.
For some years, several groups (with an uncommon civic sense and self-sacrifice) have been operating in the city in an attempt to remove the “love” padlocks from bridges, shutters, and any other places the sick imaginations of tourists can devise. They do it because, it must be said, there is a hesitation on the part of various authorities and institutions to act upon this task which should be delegated to them. However, we believe the time has come to send a clear and unambiguous message (along with removal of padlocks) to all those people who arrive in Venice with a somewhat distorted idea of love, whether for a partner or for the place that hosts them.
Venice is a world-class city with a heritage for all of humanity, this is the truth. But then the world must really take care of her, without the assumption that belonging to everyone means belonging to no one. No one would dream of spraying graffiti on the wall of his living room, or climbing on the kitchen table to do his “business”. It is not clear why these behaviors become acceptable and even normal in a city with a delicate beauty and an infrastructure easily destroyed.
Venice, 25 August 2014″

#unlockyourlove

Download here the standard pdf sheet which can be hang on top of the lock if you find one!

You can join also simply in spirit, by spreading the word and explaining to people that attaching a lock to a bridge is not a sign of love, but a sign of disrespect towards the people of that city and their monuments, their culture and their history. Share this post or tweet to all your followers and put the hashtag #unlockyourlove

Start them young: #unlockyourlove

So please join me and hundreds and maybe thousands of people (Venetians and non), help us clean up the most unique city in the world! #unlockyourlove

If you are visiting Venice, this is what you can do to help:

1- do not put any locks on our bridges and do not buy any locks from the illegal vendors (you are helping an illegal activity)

2- if you see a person about to put a lock up, please approach him/her with kindness and politely ask them to stop, explaining the reasoning

3- if you see anyone removing the small papers please stop them, again in a polite manner

4- if you want help the local putting up the papers