Getting Old in Venice

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Abstract

This project initiated a study of the quality of life of older Venetians. Through observations as well as interviews with older Venetians and with representatives of service agencies, we learned that Venice is a city beloved by its elderly residents. Its distinctive setting provides numerous social opportunities, strong community ties, a relaxed lifestyle, and very rich culture and history. But for all its attributes, Venice is not perfect; challenges include the high cost of living, mobility for some, and the overabundance of tourists.

-- Amdemartino 02:15, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Mission

This project is intended to provide insight into the lives of Venetian elders.

Objectives

To determine the advantages of being elderly in Venice.
To determine the most common challenges of being elderly in Venice.
To document programs and services offered to the elderly in Venice.

Executive Summary

This project is the product of an investigation into the lives of the elderly in Venice. Worldwide, the average age is steadily increasing, raising the need for research and investigation on the lifestyles and maintenance of lifestyles of the elderly. As Venice’s population has a faster rising average age than that of both the whole of Italy (as seen in Figure 1) and the European Union, it provides an ideal setting for this type of investigation.

Figure 1 : Animated Average Age Progression Chart

We investigated the favorable and unfavorable aspects of Venice in the eyes of the elderly, as well as existing government and private programs that provide aid. We have concluded that Venice is a nice place for the elderly to live but it is not without its fair share of problems. To learn about the lifestyles of the Venetian elderly, we conducted informal observations, informal interviews, and formal interviews. Informal interviews were conducted with elderly in public areas, while formal interviews were conducted with specific project collaborators in a formal setting. A series of open and closed ended questions were used to gather what aspects of life mattered most to the interviewees, as well as to gather information on topics of specific interest to us. The responses were then tallied based on subject matter and frequency. Formal interviews were conducted with representatives from different programs and services to learn what is offered to the elderly and how many elderly benefit from these programs or services.

The responses from our interviews with the elderly were placed into a tool, called a word cloud, which displays the frequency of words in a set of text based on size. In Figure 2, shown below, the word badante appears much larger than others because we specifically inquired about the badanti during all of our interviews. Although some other words are present for this reason, the vast majority was from unprompted responses, giving a sense of what is important to the interviewees.

Figure 2: General Interview Transcript Word Cloud

Review of our word clouds, along with interview transcripts and background research on quality of life, yielded the following factors as the most important to the Venetian elderly:

Community
Rhythm of Life
Culture
Healthcare
Safety
Mobility
Environment
Cost of Living
Housing Availability and Cost
Politics
Educational Opportunities

When interviewees were asked what they liked about Venice, the most common response was tutto, the Italian word for everything. Upon further probing, a number of aspects of Venice were considered favorable by our interviewees appeared. The categories and relative frequency of appearance of these aspects are shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3: Favorable Aspects Word Cloud

Figure 4: Favorable Aspects Frequency Distribution

The most prominent favorable aspect of Venice is the community life, making up 24% of all positive responses given. They attributed this to Venice’s distinct layout and the necessity of walking. In Figure 5 shown below, a group of elderly were speaking with each other for several minutes and in the process of leaving as the picture was taken.

Figure 5: Group of Elderly in Campo Bandiera e Moro o de la Bragora

With this strong sense of community are strong roots and ties to Venice and Venetian culture. 70% of our interviewees were born in Venice, had never left, and would not consider living anywhere else. The elderly love the rich culture of Venice; it accounted for 14% of the favorable responses. The most adored aspects of culture were the people of Venice and the public artwork. Among the strong community and strong ties to Venice are strong family roots. Venetian elders remain active in the lives of their families’ younger generations, by babysitting or taking the children to and from school.

For all the favorable aspects for the elderly in Venice, it is not perfect. Some of the aspects that the elderly attribute to favorable conditions are also attributed to the unfavorable. Shown below in Figures 6 and 7 are the aspects of Venice that that were mentioned in an unfavorable light.

Figure 6: Unfavorable Aspects Word Cloud

Figure 7: Unfavorable Aspects Frequency Distribution

Cost of living coupled with problems with housing and tourism were the most frequently mentioned negative topics, comprising 62% of all negative responses. The prevailing opinion of our interviewees was that the high cost of living and housing is due to an overabundance of tourism. Another common opinion was that apartment buildings are being converted into bed and breakfast establishments and hotels because it is more profitable to the owner. Those interviewees who had families who had moved away from Centro Storico stated that they were driven out by the high cost and lack of available housing.

Elderly everywhere experience problems with mobility, but there are distinct challenges in Venice because walking is the primary method of transportation. All of the interviewees who did not have mobility problems enjoyed the high volume of walking throughout the day. For those with physical disabilities such as arthritis, or for those who require the use of a wheelchair or cane as seen in Figure 8, the stairs on bridges can limit them to the flat areas around their homes. Those interviewees who acknowledged what Venice has done for the physically handicapped, such as installation of bridge elevators as seen in Figure 9, feel that it is not enough to be truly effective.

Figure 8: Elderly Man Having Difficulty Walking Across a Campo

Figure 9: A Bridge Elevator

Programs and services offered to the elderly enhance the quality of life for the Venetians. Programs such as the Diamond Card, an advertisement for which is shown in Figure 10, offer discounts on everyday goods as well as services such as housing maintenance to its holders. The elderly over 75 can also obtain an imob card, shown below in Figure 11, granting free vaporetti and bus transportation.

Figure 10: Diamond Card Advertisement

Figure 11: Example imob Card

Other programs meant for the enjoyment of the elderly, like the Università della Terza Età (University of the Third Age) and Auser, offer classes for the elderly in many subjects such as English, computer skills, theatre, and history.

Three aspects of healthcare in Venice were examined: hospitals, the badanti, and nursing homes. The hospitals in Venice were described as being excellent in quality, but typically have extended waiting periods between diagnosis and procedure. For those who need live-in assistance, there is the option of hiring a badante, a recent Italian phenomenon (an advertisement for which is shown in Figure 12). Badanti are primarily Eastern European women who live with and care for dependant elders. Providing this assistance and care allows the elderly to stay as active and live as normally as possible. The popularity of badanti has led to their regulation within Italy. The badanti are evolving into a more professional force as is evident by the appearance of training programs. The cost of having a badante is between 800 and 1000 Euro/month.

Figure 12: Badante Advertisement

When badanti are not an option for the elderly, rest homes such as the Casa di Riposo San Lorenzo provide comfortable care, rehabilitation, and interesting activities for the elderly living there. The cost of living in Casa do Riposo San Lorenzo is about 1600 Euro/month. For those who require the care of either a nursing home or a badante, the government will often pay for a significant portion or all the cost if the elderly person is not able to afford it.

The city of Venice has both favorable and unfavorable aspects for the elderly, but the prevailing opinion is despite any shortcomings, the City is loved by its elderly.

-- Amdemartino 02:15, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Findings & Analysis

Venice social life is favorable to both active and in-active elders due to its close knit communities and common areas such as favorite campi and bars.
Strong roots and strong family ties are very important to Venetian elders. These roots help to strengthen the sense of community and potentially increase the general satisfaction of life for the elders.
The slow and tranquil pace of life in Venice provides a uniquely satisfying atmosphere to the elderly, one of the reasons why so many choose to live here and continue living here.
Though many elders generally think Venice is a nice place to live, mobility is a challenge due to the lack of cars and private transportation and the many bridges and stairs.
Though Venice was generally considered to be an excellent residence for elders by our interviewees, the rising cost of living can make it difficult for the retired population with no income to afford housing and maintain their lifestyle off of savings or pension.
Programs and services maintained by the municipality of Venice contribute to the ease and cost of living for Venetian elders; unfortunately not all programs are well-known or fully utilized.
Hospitals and Rest Homes in Venice provide free and quality healthcare to the elder population.
The availability and use of badante in Venice contribute to the lives of the elderly by providing assistance with mobility and care, offering companionship, and providing an alternative to assisted living.

--Jkent 23:58, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Recommendations

Quality of Life Study of Elderly in Mestre

The purpose of completing an identical study of the elderly in Mestre would be to see in what ways living in Centro Storico distinctively affects the lives of the elderly. Mestre and Centro Storico are a part of the same city, yet are very different as Mestre is located on the mainland and Centro Storico is an island. While they are part of the same city, there may be different challenges to the elderly in both places. Perhaps elders living in Mestre have less challenges with mobility since they can use autos, but are forced into assisted living sooner due to higher rates of heart disease, cholesterol, and body weight. Does Mestre have as great a need for badanti, or do they have less, if families can remain to live closer or together. A study of the elderly in Mestre would keep all variables such as the region and the people constant while being able to understand what differentiates the island from the mainland.

Further Investigation of the Badanti

Though the badanti are more common in Venice, it was difficult for us to obtain detailed information on their backgrounds, legality, and numbers. It would be helpful to find out how many are legal immigrants licensed to work as badanti and how many are not. Those who are not legalized might be taking away from Venice‟s resources by living in Venice illegally – but would these downfalls be overlooked because of their necessity to care for the aging Venetians? More research and investigation of their nursing and healthcare backgrounds would also show if they are really qualified to provide care to the elderly. Determining the percentage of badante in the total population would help to show the demographic distribution of Venetians versus non- natives. Further investigation of the home countries of badanti may provide insight as to why they come to Venice, is there a reason they come from certain places, and how did they find out about this type of work?

The Least Active Elderly

The least active elderly are those who are completely confined to their homes, either by choice, or by mobility limitations. This group of the elderly population was completely excluded from our research because we had no access to them. Being able to gather their opinions on life in Venice is valuable because they are inhabitants of Venice just as all the other elderly are. The information that they can provide about living in Venice will be another component in understanding what is entailed in being elderly in Venice. Without their equal representation, we can not come to a full understanding of the elderly population. Other useful information would be to determine what percentage of the elderly population they make up; to see if theirs is actually the common story to tell. A large amount of these elderly may explain why the population of Venice is skewed towards the third age group.

Elderly That Move to Centro Storico to Retire

This group was almost completely excluded from our research in this project. The purpose of focusing on them for study is to examine why they left where they came from to settle in Venice. It will aid in the insight into the lives of the elderly in Venice because their reasons for settling in Venice are key attraction points of the City to those who wish to spend their retirement years here. Their reasons for moving to Venice would also provide a more distinct description of “what they like about Venice”, while many elders we spoke with simply replied “everything” and required further prompting on the subject.

Elderly Venetians that have left Venice

The elderly Venetians that have left Venice are also another group of interest that we were unable to study. The reason(s) why they left would be of interest because those could serve to highlight aspects of the city that are seen as negatives and that they were problems enough for those people to leave. This information would be yet another piece to go into the understanding of what it is like to be elderly in Venice.

Construction of ‘Day in the Life of’ Storylines

The purpose of the „Day in the Life‟ storylines is to combine the gathered information from this project into a cohesive and logical display. The storylines would revolve around the average waking hours in a day, highlighting the challenges and advantages to being elderly in Venice. Several of these story lines could be created, based on the various activity levels of Venetian elders. The stories would demonstrate what a specific type of person could do throughout the day, and tie in key findings from research on the elderly lifestyle in Venice.

--Jkent 20:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Interactive Motion Chart

This chart below is the animation of gathered census data which shows the progression of population, and percentage of population over the age of 65, over time. When you change the color to represent population, the size of the bubble to represent percentage over 65, and press play, the graph can be explained like this: With blue representing Venice, green representing Italy, yellow representing Germany, and red representing Japan, we can see that while the percentage over 65 is increasing for each location, Venice does so at a higher rate.

--Jkent 23:39, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Collaborative Graphic

-- Amdemartino 02:15, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

The Team

From the Left: Angelica DeMartino, Julie Kent, Dan Mallette

Member Information:

Angelica DeMartino

Biomedical Engineering Major
Class of 2010
Hometown: North Smithfield, RI

Julie Kent

Industrial Engineering Major
Class of 2010
Hometown: Brookfield, MA

Dan Mallette

Mechanical Engineering Major
Class of 2010
Hometown:

--Jkent 19:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Acknowledgements

We would first like to thank all the Venetians that we interviewed for making this project possible. Thank you Bruno Nogara for helping us with our interviews, as well as your wonderful stories and many laughs. Thank you Umberto Angelin for aiding us in finding interviewees and providing essential insight. Thank you Professor Fabio Carrera for providing us with this opportunity and utilizing your connections to help us find interviewees. Thank you Professor Paul Davis for providing us with so much support and guidance, and for the exhaustive reviewing of our drafts. Thank you Alberto Gallo and Andrea Novello for helping us in whatever ways you could to make this term in Venice as smooth as possible. Lastly, but certainly not least, we would like to thank the Living and Young IQP groups for your collaboration throughout this project.

--Jkent 19:37, 8 January 2009 (UTC)