Cruise ships visiting Venice to be diverted away from St Mark’s Square 

The MSC Magnifica cruise ship passes near St Mark's Square in the heart of Venice

Credit: ANDREA PATTARO/AFP

Cruise ships visiting Venice are to be banned from ploughing past St Mark’s Square and the historic centre of the city and instead directed to an industrial port across the lagoon, the Italian government has ruled.

It is the latest development in a debate that has dragged on for years, with many Venetians objecting to the giant vessels looming so close to their homes and environmentalists saying the ships damage the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem.

Instead of sailing past St Mark’s, turning down the narrow Giudecca Canal and docking at the international cruise ship terminal near the historic centre, the giant vessels will have to take a route used by container ships and petrol tankers.

That will take them across the lagoon towards the port of Marghera, on the mainland.

The cruise ship industry is currently in limbo as a result of the pandemic, which has killed more than 106,000 Italians, but there are high hopes that it can resume this summer.

Cruise ships currently pass within a few hundred yards of St Mark's Square

Credit: Bloomberg

The decision to divert the liners was taken jointly by the ministers for infrastructure, culture, tourism and the environment, who said their intention was “to protect a cultural and historical heritage that belongs not only to Italy but to the entire world.”

The ministers said the arrangement was only temporary, announcing a “call for ideas” to create a cruise ship terminal outside the lagoon “and give a structural and definitive solution to the problem of large ship transit in Venice”.

It is the latest installment in a long-running row over the fact that cruise ships come so close to Venice.

Some fear the gigantic vessels, which can be more than 1,000ft long, cause damage to Venice’s delicate foundations and the lagoon’s ecosystem.

Ever since the Costa Concordia smashed into rocks and capsized in 2012 off Giglio, an island near the coast of Tuscany, there have been fears that a similar disaster could happen in Venice.

Dario Franceschini, the culture minister, has said in the past that it is “unimaginable that such giants should be allowed to pass right in front of St Mark’s Square. Nobody with an ounce of common sense can understand it.”

But the cruise ship industry has dismissed these claims and points to the jobs and revenue that the sector creates.

Their absence during the pandemic has had beneficial effects on wildlife, however. Earlier this week there was a rare sighting of a pair of dolphins at the entrance to the Grand Canal, a few hundred yards from St Mark’s Square.

The coast guard described the presence of the bottlenose dolphins as “exceptional.” It is believed they were drawn into the lagoon by the presence of shoals of fish or cuttlefish.

Venice on Thursday celebrated the 1,600th anniversary of its foundation, which according to legend was on March 25, AD 421.

Commemorative events will be held for the rest of the year, although many will be virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Historians say it is impossible to pinpoint exactly when Venice was founded – the islands of the lagoon were settled by people from the mainland fleeing the invasion of barbarian tribes following the collapse of the Roman Empire.