With stunning imagery, The Venetian Dilemma portrays the fragile urban ecology of Venice besieged by 14 million tourists who far outnumber the local residents. By tracking four Venetians who are trying to make a life in this unique historic place, the themes of urban gentrification and tourist impact are raised--a problem not only for Venice but for many other urban areas.The thread of the film is debate among ordinary Venetians and their charismatic deputy mayor, Roberto D'Agostino, about the pros and cons of plans to diversify the city's economy by redeveloping a degraded industrial area and connecting it to the mainland by an underwater subway. Opponents of such plans doubt that the promised jobs will arrive, and believe that the subway will only serve to bring more tourists to Venice. Meanwhile, local residents face a daily struggle for a decent quality of life. Produce vendor Danilo Palmieri battles to maintain his livelihood; career woman and mother Michela Scibilia fights for day care; writer and environmentalist Paolo Lanapoppi campaigns against fast tourist-serving motorboats that are destroying the very foundations of Venice. The documentary celebrates what makes Venice distinctive historically, not only as a beautiful city, but one that fostered a "civilized" life style. Now, an untrammeled tourist industry has transformed it into little more than a staged urban theater, verging on a Disneyland. And the grand city-building schemes offer no guarantees that they will be the solution.