Italy to ban cruise ships from tourist hotspot

From January 2014, cruise ship traffic in front of the Piazza San Marco, the city’s busiest tourist attraction, will be limited. Ships of more than 40,000 tonnes authorised to cross the Guidecca canal will be cut by 20%from 2012 levels.

In addition, from November 2014, ships will be banned from the canal between the mainland the Guidecca Island in the lagoon, while a new access channel is developed with the main shipping terminal.

In a statement released last week, Giorgio Orsoni, mayor of Venice, said: “For the first time, the government intervened on the issue of the great cruise ships, and that in itself is a relevant point. We’ve had enough of these mega cruise ships just metres away from San Marco. From now on, there will be clear limits on the size of ships that can enter Venice.”

Protests by Venice residents and environmentalists concerned about the damage caused by increasing cruise ship traffic to the UNESCO site have been on the rise in recent years.

Concerns are on also the rise following the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012, which sank off the Tuscan Islands of Giglio.