Cruise ships' go back to Venice reignites tensions
Saturday saw the first cruise ship cast faraway from Venice after almost one and a half years' suspension as a result of coronavirus pandemic, reinflaming a war of words between supporters and opponents of the massive floating hotels.
With the MSC Orchestra looming over Saint Mark's square, demonstrators in small motorboats waved banners reading "no to cruise lines".
"Cruise ships bring popularly and run tourism that truly brings little benefit to Venice," demonstrator Lucia Tedesco, 57, told AFP.
Concerned for the surroundings and the city's cultural heritage, opponents of the ships say they cause large waves that undermine Venice's foundations and harm fragile ecosystem of its lagoon.
However the UNESCO World Heritage site is also home to fans of the massive vessels, many organised in the "Venice at the job" movement.
They state stopoffs by tourist cruises create jobs in a city dependent on tourism -- itself massively undermined by the pandemic.
Around 650 persons boarded the MSC Orchestra in Venice after showing a poor coronavirus test less than four days old and passing another at that moment.
None showed any sign of annoyance at the strict hygiene measures made to prevent the intense outbreaks that hit some cruise lines at the pandemic's height.
Just half the MSC Orchestra's 3,000 places will be filled for its tour consuming destinations in southern Italy, Greece and Croatia.
The ship's crew took on supplies and tightened up safety protocols during their time in Venice.
Venice's economy had lost "around one billion euros" ($1.2 billion) in the area of a year from the 800,000 fewer cruise passengers visiting, Cruise Lines International Association director Francesco Galietti told AFP -- calling the Orchestra's stop "our contribution to the restart of this city".
Among the world's best-known holiday destinations, Venice's cruise liner debate always resonates beyond Italy's borders.
On Tuesday, a slew of international artists -- from Mick Jagger to Wes Anderson and Tilda Swinton -- wrote to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Draghi and the mayor of Venice.
They needed a "final stop" to visits by cruise lines as well as better management of tourist flows, protection of the lagoon ecosystem and limits on property speculation to safeguard the city's "physical integrity but also cultural identity".
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
