Artists wrote to the prime minister to ban giant ships in Venice

Rome - Sixty famous actors, writers, architects, and other personalities have signed a petition to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, urging him to ban the entry of giant cruise ships into Venice. Local residents have been protesting against the entry of large cruise vessels into the Venetian lagoon for years, claiming that the ships are destroying the monuments and the aesthetics of this historic city. Now, actors such as Michael Douglas and architect Norman Foster have joined them, reported the APA agency today.
    "The protection of the city is more important than the economic interests associated with cruise ship passengers," believe the petitioners, who are also supported by actress Jane Fonda, Nobel Prize-winning author VS Naipaul, and fashion designer Calvin Klein. All of them want to persuade Renzi to prevent the "invasion" of ships into Venice.
    The association No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) has been fighting against cruise ships in the city for several years now - and so far unsuccessfully. This tourism sector is very important in terms of revenue. Each year, 1.8 million people arrive in Venice on large ships; each vessel pays 150,000 euros to moor in the local port and tourists spend tens of millions of euros in the city. However, they generally do not stay long in Venice, and so no revenue comes from them for accommodation providers.
    Recently, the Italian government has made some concessions regarding the entry of ships into Venice. Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi announced that starting in 2015, ships weighing over 96,000 tons will not be allowed into the city, and from 2016 an alternative route should be available to ensure that vessels do not approach the historic center of the port.