In the first Venice guidebook I wrote, I included a sidebar on how to avoid crowds at St. Mark's cathedral. Those are the only words I wish I hadn't published. Almost a thousand years ago, St Mark's was purpose-built to awe crowds with the glory of Venice. Only with a crowd do you realize: those medieval stonemasons totally nailed it.
To make amends, I wrote "The Joy of the Crowd." The story was adopted as the manifesto for Fest300, a festival travel startup. Within a month of launch, Fest300 generated high-profile coverage; its first year, the site won a Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism.
Then came Covid-19, and for the first time in centuries, the doors of St. Marks closed to visitors. Overnight, all the most trafficked online features I wrote about travel in Italy suddenly became irrelevant - except for this one. The joy of the crowd stays with us, even after the crowds are gone - and its magnetism is undeniable. We’ll be together again.