In a historic move, the Italian government has announced a ban on large cruise ships from entering waterways in the city of Lagoon to save the historic, artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of the Venice Lagoon City.
Although Venice decided to ban the cruise ships for the first time in 2012, the ban could not be imposed even after several proposals. The ban, finally announced by the Italian government on 13 July this year, will come into effect from 1 August. This includes all ships whose weight is more than 25,000 tons or longer than 530 feet. Following the ban, ships will no longer be able to cross St Mark's Square for the narrow Giudecca canal to reach the city's central port. Now they will have to go, at the industrial port of Marghera, on the mainland.
The ban has been taken under a UNESCO warning, in which that UNESCO was considering adding the historic lagoon to the list of endangered heritage or "world heritage in danger". The country's culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said the decision was influenced by UNESCO's warnings "to avoid concrete risk." Perhaps this measure will prove to be right to preserve the heritage of the city.
He said that the decision to impose this ban is a victory for UNESCO, local residents and environmental campaigners, which will surely please them. Who had been expressing their concern over the world's most delicate and most beautiful tourism in recent years. They were fighting to impose the ban on these huge cruise ships from lagoons. On the other hand, according to local media, a section that depended on cruise ships arriving to earn their livelihood are not happy with the decision.
Despite the government's announcement of a ban on ships in April, people were stunned to see a cruise ship floating on the waterway in June. The most recent promise in an attempt to ban mega cruise ships came from Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi but it was set up on a condition in which the government would create an alternative port for tourists.
UNESCO listed Venice and its lagoon on its World Heritage List in 1987.
On Tuesday 13 July, Franceschini tweeted the news, saying he was "proud of the commitment".
A #Venezia dal 1 agosto le grandi navi non passeranno più davanti a San Marco per il canale della Giudecca. Approvato il decreto legge in consiglio dei ministri. Orgoglioso di un impegno mantenuto. @UNESCO @AAzoulay pic.twitter.com/1HXIwpbHbZ
— Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) July 13, 2021
The government has made several attempts to ban mega cruise ships in the last few years, including in 2013 announcing a ban on ships weighing more than 96,000 tonnes. Attempts were made to impose restrictions again in 2019, but the same year a cruise ship collided with a tourist boat docked on the 13-deck MSC Giudecca Canal, injuring four people. The incident had created an atmosphere of protest in the entire city.
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