Cruise ships will no longer be allowed to sail past St Mark’s Square in Venice Italy, and instead will dock at the Venice Lagoon (the city's industrial port), the Italian government announced.
Italy's ministers for infrastructure, culture, tourism and environment took the decision in order “to protect a cultural and historical heritage that belongs not only to Italy but to the entire world”, a statement revealed on March 25.
However, getting large cruise vessels to dock at Port Marghera, rather than in the downtown terminal is only a “temporary” solution, the statement adds.
The ministers announced a “call for ideas” to create a cruise terminal outside the lagoon “and give a structural and definitive solution to the problem of large ship transit in Venice”.
Prior to the health crisis, Venice's cruise shipping traffic boomed, bringing millions of tourists to the historic city. Critics said the large cruise liners were a potential safety hazard, passing exceptionally close to the historic buildings, as well as a threat to the ecosystem of the lagoon.
Cruise ships are now suspended in the country as part of lockdown measures against the pandemic.