What news on the Rialto?

Thwarted terrorist attack, that’s the news.

I suppose it was only a matter of time.  Three men and a minor from Kosovo, who have been in Italy for two years with regular “green cards,” had been organizing a suicide mission on or near the Rialto Bridge and — the radio reported today — possibly the Piazza San Marco and/or even the basilica of San Marco.

The Veneto, one learns, is on a sort of corridor connecting the Balkans to Europe.  Other potential events and/or connections along this axis have been monitored for months.  Last November, according to “La Nuova Venezia,” the government received a warning that ISIS had sent some Balkan terrorists to strike a blow in Italy.  The choices of place and time are many, of course, but the fact that Venice would be brimming with tourists for the Easter holiday offered many positive aspects to the here and now.

As one of the four said in an intercepted phone conversation, “With Venice you’ll immediately win paradise because there are so many nonbelievers here, put a bomb at Rialto.”  One reader may be thinking of a world-class monument, another may be thinking of how many people would have been on the bridge.

In any case, the newspapers are full of interesting details which I totally do not feel like repeating.  I only wrote this post because it seemed important to report this development.  It’s certainly more important than most of the other things you’re likely to read — or not — about Venice these days.  Acqua alta?  I’ll take all you’ve got.