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Venice banning cruise ships from the Lagoon. Declares the Lagoon a national monument.

Posted by (Amsterdam) on

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/world/europe/venice-italy-cruise-ship-ban.html?campaign_id=51&emc=edit_mbe_20210714&instance_id=35248&nl=morning-briefing%3A-europe-edition&regi_id=62342850&segment_id=63371&te=1&user_id=e45e7a1e5e81c7f7d83a27bd4e0e6fd9
Italy announced on Tuesday that it was banning large cruise ships from entering Venice’s waters and was also declaring the city’s lagoon a national monument, in a move to protect a fragile ecosystem from the downsides of mass tourism.

The ban, demanded for decades by both Venice residents and environmentalists, will take effect on Aug. 1.

“The intervention could no longer be delayed,” Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said in a statement.

In recent weeks, as cruise ships returned to Venice after the pause imposed by the pandemic, protesters in the city rallied on small boats and on the waterfront with “No big boats” flags. Last Sunday, they demonstrated during the Group of 20 summit for economic ministers that took place in the city, attracting international media attention.

Posted by
4183 posts

Yayyyyy! Just seeing the picture in the article should be enough for anyone to celebrate this decision.

Posted by
1258 posts

Probably only the first of similar moves all across Europe intended to reduce the impact we foreign hordes have on delicate historical and cultural treasures. There will be economic impacts for several dependent industries.

Posted by
4853 posts

we'll have to see how this plays out, there is already pushback from the Venice tourist industry

Posted by
19274 posts

Great news. There has to be some limits on what can be done in the name of business. These ships are so grossly ugly they should be banned from the earth.

Posted by
205 posts

I stopped going to Venice when there were cruise ships docked because there were way too many people during the day and the only other people you would run into were other Americans, with a smattering of Brits and Germans. I am sure that I'm not the only one who avoided Venice on account of this. Meeting locals are part of the whole Rick Steves philosophy. The cruise ships don't want to pay the overnight mooring tariffs so they depart early, before these destinations can get a dinner/ evening crowd (and the cruisers have already paid for dinner on the ship) and of course no hotels are booked. Plus, smaller attractions get almost no business. I think this is a win-win. I hope it sticks.

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