I just came back to Los Angeles from my first trip to Italy, including a two-day sojourn in Venezia. I saw (but didn’t patronize) Harry’s Bar. No map, no roll-arounds, no cruise ships, but I did go to Burano Island to look at Murano glass. (It was part of the tour…) There, we were latched onto by the most obsequious salesman — thin, pencil-thin moustache, almost-comical suit, and toadyish manner — who tried to sell my ladyfriend and me nearly $2,500 in six wine goblets, a decanter, and a serving tray. No sale. Grazie.

The gondola ride was obligatory. The walking tour was wonderful. St. Mark’s Basilica was unbelievably gorgeous.

But at the end, I could see why the city’s permanent population has declined to about 11,000. I couldn’t see myself living in that environment.

Italy should have been at the top of European economies, but it wasn’t. I wondered why that was so.

After speaking with a number of Italians from Sorrento, Amalfi, Napoli, all the way up to Lago di Como and Lago di Maggiore, as well as Milan and Firenzé, the common answer was CORRUPTION. So the curse that afflicted the progenitor of Western Civilization, starting 2,779 years ago, still reigns today. Ego, greed, narcissism, all traits that affect the current president of the United States, ruined this brilliant country and led it to its Ozymandian status.

But I’m glad we got to see Venezia before it sinks into the Adriatic Sea forever….