Venice reopens its lagoon to cruises in a controversial atmosphere

After a 17-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first cruise ship set sail on Saturday 5 June in Venice. What sparked controversy between supporters and opponents of the presence of these sea monsters in the famous Italian lake.

Both camps pretended on their own to defend their positions: while the enormous silhouette of MSC . Orchestra Waving in front of St. Mark’s Square, demonstrators waved signs “No to cruise ships” They shouted their opposition aboard small steamboats.

Defenders of the environment and cultural heritage accuse the large waves generated by these ships, several hundred meters in length and several storeys high, of eroding the foundations of the Serenissima buildings, a UNESCO heritage site, and endangering the fragile ecosystem of its lake.

For their part, proponents of cruise ships highlight the many functions that their presence provides to Venice, whose economy is mainly dependent on tourism, which has affected it especially during the pandemic.

The controversy is not limited to Venice, and it has always had an international dimension, due to the fame of this tourist destination, one of the most popular destinations in the world.

On Tuesday, a slew of international artists, from Mick Jagger to Wes Anderson through Francis Ford Coppola and Tilda Swinton, sent an open letter to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the mayor of Venice to ask someone to ask one of them. “Final stop” cruise ship traffic.

Cette lettre intitulée “Un décalogue pour Venise”, égallement signée par l’ex-ministre française de la Culture Françoise Nyssen, demande une meilleure gestion des flux touristiques, la protection de l’écosystème de la lagune et la lutte contre la lutte contre la mobilte to protect “Physical integrity but also cultural identity” Doug City.