Italy's Government Promised To Keep Giant Cruise Ships From Venice's Center. They Lied.
Anti-cruise ship campaigners in Venice claim they were “deceived” by the Italian government as hundreds protested against huge vessels docking in the historic city’s port on Saturday. Residents were caught by surprise on Thursday when a cruise liner sailed into the lagoon city for the first time since the pandemic began, despite prime minister Mario Draghi’s government declaring that the ships would be banned from the historic centre. The 92,000 tonne ship MSC Orchestra collected 650 passengers before leaving for Bari, in southern Italy, on Saturday.
“The Italian government has been great at deceiving not only citizens of Venice, but newspapers and public opinion around the world,” said Tommaso Cacciari, leader of the activist group No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships). A counterprotest was held by Si Grandi Navi, a movement that supports the thousands of people in the area whose livelihoods depend on the cruise industry and who have been out of work since the pandemic struck in spring last year.
The government announced in late March that cruise ships would be prohibited from sailing past St Mark’s Square and docking in the historic centre. The plan was for the ships to be diverted to the industrial port of Marghera while plans were made for the construction of a cruise terminal outside the lagoon. The decree was approved by the lower house of parliament last month, with Dario Franceschini, the culture minister, reiterating that ships “as tall as apartment buildings” had been stopped from arriving in the centre of Venice “for good”.
In reality, to make it feasible to redirect cruise ships to Marghera port, infrastructure work needs to be done first. In the meantime, the only way for the ships to enter Venice is via the Giudecca canal, where in June 2019 a 13-deck vessel operated by MSC crashed into a wharf and tourist boat, injuring five people. “The government knew it was impossible, as the canal that the ships must pass through to reach Marghera is too narrow and not deep enough,” said Cacciari. “So you would need to dredge the canal in order for that to happen, which would be even more devastating for the equilibrium of the lagoon.” Cacciari added: “The aim of this protest is to make the government realise and explain – the whole world reported on this story – and yet here the big ships are again. It’s shameful.”
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/05/angry-protests-in-venice-at-shock-return-of-cruise-ships