After a year and a half, the first cruise ship leaves Venice. Activists are angry – and are accompanying the start with protests.
Venice (dpa) – Amid loud protests, a large cruise ship has left Venice again after a good year and a half.
The demonstrators watched the cruiser in small boats on the water with flags and banners. “Big ships out of the lagoon,” the people chanted. The movement “No Grandi Navi” (No Big Ships) had already called for the protests at the beginning of the week. Because of the corona pandemic, no large cruise ship had docked in the world heritage city for months.
The route of the Pott through the lagoon, which was set off for the Mediterranean cruise, had caused trouble. This is exactly where the cruise opponents no longer want the ships. “That could have been an April joke,” wrote “No Grandi Navi” in their protest announcement with reference to a regulation that came into force on April 1st. In it, the government in Rome initiated an ideas competition to collect proposed solutions for a pier outside the lagoon. There are no concrete plans yet.
The cruise association Clia was also surprised that the cruises are already starting again in Venice. After the millions lost in the industry, this is a positive sign, said the association’s head of Italy, Francesco Galietti, of the dpa. In the dispute about the journey through the lagoon and the search for a new landing stage, the Clia demand a stable solution.
The subject of cruises in Venice had even attracted international celebrities. Among others, Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, actress Tilda Swinton and director James Ivory had in an open letter called for a “stop for large ships in the lagoon”. The letter was addressed to the Italian government.
Before the corona pandemic, Venice hosted millions of tourists every year. The city has been the destination of many cruise ships that have been debated for years.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210605-99-875675 / 2
