“Wonderful city. Streets full of water. Please advise,” Robert Benchley wired his editor at the New Yorker more than 50 years ago. Today’s visitor might instead inform friends, “Wonderful city. Wallet empty of money. Stay away.”

The few Americans in Venice are in a state of shock. It takes about $1.50 to buy a euro. Just a few years ago, we could buy all the euros we needed to pay for pizzas, tiny glass animals, enough glass beads to purchase Manhattan Island, or to frequent the high-fashion shops that dominate the major shopping streets for less than $1. So a hotel room that would have cost an American tourist $250 in 2005 now goes for well over $400 when you add to the shriveled value.