UNESCO on Wednesday hailed the
Italian government's decision Tuesday to ban cruise ships from
the Venice lagoon starting August 1.
"Italy's decision to ban the access of large cruise ships to the
Venice Lagoon as of 1 August 2021 is a very good news and an
important step that significantly contributes to the
safeguarding of this unique heritage site. #Venice," tweeted
UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay.
The nearby industrial port of Marghera is being readied as an
alternative docking point and the government will compensate
firms and workers hit by the ban.
UNESCO said on June 21 that Venice's survival would be even more
in peril if the lagoon city didn't issue a permanent ban on
cruise ships docking there.
The UN heritage body said it would examine a proposal to put
Venice on its endangered list at its plenary session on July 16
to 31.
There have long been calls for cruise ships to be banned from
Venice because of their impact on the city's delicate historic
buildings and on the lagoon's unique ecosytem.
The drive to ban them intensified after a cruise ship crashed
into a quay in June 2019.
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