(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 14 - 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. (ANSA).