Venice Chronicles: Balancing Tradition and Future with Morris Ceron, Director General and Head of Cabinet of the Municipality of Venice
In this exclusive interview, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Morris Ceron, a visionary leader whose life embodies a compelling narrative of personal and professional growth. Originating from Oderzo, a city nestled in the province of Treviso, Morris Ceron navigated the realms of academia, moving to Bologna at 19 to pursue a degree in Law. However, his roots in hard work were deeply ingrained from a young age, as he assisted his parents, who worked as peddlers, instilling in him the essence of diligence and early rising.
From selling wines to seeds for agriculture during his university years, Morris financed his education and cultivated essential skills. This diverse experience laid the foundation for his remarkable journey, culminating in establishing and managing a successful basketball club. The turning point came in 2008 when he crossed paths with Luigi Brugnaro, eventually becoming integral to the Reyer Venezia, an Italian professional basketball club in Venice. In 2015, Brugnaro was elected as Mayor of Venice. He wanted him first as chief of staff and then as the General Director of the City, a testament to his unwavering commitment to professional excellence.
In this exclusive interview, Morris Ceron shares insights into his passions, the challenges and triumphs of safeguarding Venice, and the ambitious projects shaping the future of this historic city.
Morris Ceron with Monica Bellucci
Morris, what are your greatest passions?
One of my greatest passions, which has been a real-life training ground for me, is definitely sports, particularly basketball. I firmly believe that sport has important educational and social values. In fact, it teaches you to win, but most importantly, to lose and to get back up after a defeat. It gives voice and space to talent, merit, and sacrifice, which represent fundamental values for raising respectful and honest citizens. Achieving greatness and success isn’t a smooth road, but you can do it just by being humble and making a lot of sacrifices. Moving from a passion, which over the years became a job at Reyer, and experiencing the excitement of winning the Italian Championships, the European Cups, and the Italian Cups, has been something indescribable. However, all these achievements won’t change my idea that each day is a new beginning, where you have to be courageous and humble enough to take risks, to challenge yourself, and never stop learning constantly.
With the Mose, Venice stopped the sea. How has safeguarding the city changed over the years?
The Mose represents a great Italian engineering system that has been raised in adverse weather conditions. It has been demonstrated that thanks to the combination of science and technology, the effects of climate change can be countered. We are currently witnessing the powerful impact that this system has on preventing Venice from flooding, consequently saving the city and its citizens. It is important to remember that Mayor Luigi Brugnaro’s determination and courage greatly contributed to speeding up its commissioning, even though the Mose has not yet been completed. This engineering system is not enough, in fact, in Mestre city, located on the mainland, we built a 35-meter-diameter first rainwater tank capable of holding 12,500 cubic meters of water, equal to more than 12.5 million liters. We are currently making another one twice as big. In case of heavy rain, this plant retains the first rain waters for later treatment in order to keep roads and houses dry. This technology has resulted from a targeted study combined with science, which has been used to adapt to climate change without harming the environment.
Morris Ceron Personal Archive
In Venice, tourism has restarted. Now, the challenge is sustainability, with experimentation with the Entry Fee. What will it consist of?
After COVID-19, where attendance in the City was really at an all-time low, Venice is finally back to welcoming millions of visitors from all over the world. Over tourism has been a hot topic since the 1950s, there are newsreels of the time that cast the threat of the Lagoon city’s survival. The difference is that now we are finally testing a system to protect Venice from the mass tourism that makes the city unliveable on certain days of the year. The idea of the entry fee is, for now, an experiment, quite unique in the world, which will start from spring 2024 by which we suggest day trippers not to come on such days classified as “black”. Should they decide to do so, reservations will be required, and they will have to pay the entry fee. We intend not to cash out or close the City but make it bookable. Venice will always remain accessible and open, but visitors, especially domestic and international day trippers, need to understand that planning is required to better manage the balance between residents and tourists.
Morris Ceron with the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, Domenico Dolce , Tiziana Lippiello, Alfonso Dolce , Stefania Moretti
Jobs and future to young people. What is Venice’s proposal?
Investments attract job creation with a perspective on the future and represent our plan for the Porto Marghera and the mainland’s revitalization process, where experimental studies must be conducted, for instance, hydrogen production. In fact, it is not by any chance that we launched in Mestre the first stationary gas station using this technology in July 2022. Thanks to the German businessman Gotthardt’s investment, we will soon establish a new medical hub at the former seaside hospital on Lido Island. This is going to be a technology hub to attract talents from around the world, giving them the possibility to relocate to Venice.
It is important to mention that a major urban regeneration process, under the banner of environmental and energy sustainability, passes through universities. Together with representatives of the Venice academia, we signed the “Venice City Campus” protocol in order to create a center of knowledge and excellence capable of attracting, training, and retaining young talents with advanced knowledge who choose every day to live in Venice, thanks to the quality of the educational and research programming offered, not to forget the wide range of related services offered within the context of an inclusive, modern and sustainable community. We can assure that Venice is not just a city to be seen only once, but it is a vast territory full of opportunities where you can decide to settle down, choosing to live and work there.
Venice development and visions. Morris Ceron with Marina Slobodyanik
Venice is one of the capitals of major international events. Can you give us some hints for next year?
Venice has always been the stage for major national and international events. After COVID-19, we were one of the first cities in Italy to start again with large in-person events. A choice that has for sure paid us off. Some of these events that we have been organizing are The Venice Biennale with Art, Architecture, and the Film Festival, but also the Historical Regatta, the Redentore Festival, and so on. We will soon launch the calendar of events for Christmas and present Carnival 2024. I’d like to mention the cultural district of the Venice and Mestre Museums, which were designed to expand the offerings for citizens of the entire metropolitan area. In 2024, there are going to be celebrations for the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death, furthermore an ongoing and developing calendar with different appointments. The Carnival theme will be dedicated to him. But I cannot reveal more so you will have to come and experience those days of celebration and magic with us.
Morris Ceron sharing his vision of Venice with Marina Slobodyanik
And there is also the challenge of the trade fairs you are pursuing…
The fourth edition of the Boat Show, held this year at the Arsenale, was a real opportunity to promote the green industry within a particular field, such as boating, a hobby for most people but a fundamental sector for the Venetian economy. In the Arsenal, we also launched the first edition of the High-End Italian Craftsmanship Fair with excellences of luxury manual production from all over Italy. We have hosted important fashion shows and events of the most prestigious Made in Italy brands, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, and Armani. The reason why we decided to host these important events is because we have been able to establish a public-private dialogue, overcoming challenges in meeting public interests.
How do you see the Venice of the future? What new challenges await you?
Venice is indeed the oldest City of the future, a broad territory where tradition and innovation, preservation, and development coexist. By saying this, I want to transfer the idea to young generations to bet on this City because there is excellent scope for growth and opportunity. In Mestre, we will build the new railway station, which will connect Mestre and Marghera thanks to a so-called bridge that will improve accessibility to the rail service, boosting the liveability and usability of indoor and outdoor spaces. While in Tessera, will be built soon Sports Forest, a massive construction including a stadium, an arena, and the completion of the new Tessera-airport roadway, where people could find internal urbanization, green and landscape areas, as well as an educational one. The time frame for this significant construction realization goes from now till 2026. These are actual actions, not just words. Other important upcoming projects included a grand overall plan that also passes through the rail link to the airport, the development of the Port of Venice and its areas, the revitalization of Porto Marghera, and the city’s great university fabric. We believe that big projects, connections, and infrastructures will boost the attractiveness of our lands, making us competitive as a metropolis. Venice is truly the city of opportunities.
Marina Slobodyanik interviewing Morris Ceron at historic Piazza San Marco in Venice
