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Italy to ban large cruise ships in the center of Venice to protect the lagoon
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the giant floating hotels cause large waves that undermine the city’s foundations and harm the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon
Large cruise ships will be banned from sailing into the center of Venice from August, after years of warnings they risk causing irreparable damage to the lagoon city says an article on France24.
To ban large cruise ships
Italy to ban large cruise ships in the center of Venice to protect the lagoon. The decision, confirmed at a meeting of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet, comes just days before a meeting of the UN’s cultural organization UNESCO, which had proposed to add Venice to its list of endangered heritage sites.
The move will see the biggest ships diverted to the city’s industrial port of Marghera. However, this is viewed as only a temporary solution, with ministers calling for ideas on a new permanent terminal.
Campaigners have for years been calling for cruise ships to be banned from sailing past the iconic St Mark’s Square. They say the giant floating hotels cause large waves that undermine the city’s foundations and harm the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon.
Extraordinary architectural masterpiece
The debate was reignited by the return last month of cruises after the coronavirus pandemic when the throngs of tourists that normally fill the streets of Venice stayed away.
Venice was put on UNESCO’s heritage list in 1987 as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”. But the body warned last month of the need for a “more sustainable tourism management” and recommended adding Venice to its endangered heritage list.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said Tuesday that after years of deliberations about what to do, the decision had become urgent.
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Source: France24
