Italy banned cruise ships from the Venice Lagoon in a move welcomed by anti-cruise ship campaigners.
After Unesco threatened to put Venice on its endangered list unless Italy permanently bans large ships from docking in the world heritage site, the Italian government said on Tuesday, July 13, that ships weighing 25,000+ tonnes would be barred from the lagoon from August 1, 2021.
Cruise companies will have to scrap the port from their itineraries until the industrial Marghera is repurposed. The government appointed a commissioner to accelerate the progress of the project, which would take about 6 months. A call for bids for the building of a terminal equipped to take vessels weighing 40,000+ tonnes was published at the end of June 2021.
The 25,000-tonne limit means that only small passenger ferries and freight ships will be able to use the Giudecca canal and enter Venice’s historic downtown.
Companies and workers affected by the changes will be compensated, a statement from prime minister Mario Draghi’s office said.