A giant cruise ship passed through the San Marco Basin, in Venice, interrupting the start of the Vogalonga, a non-competitive regatta of rowing boats that has reached its 45th edition.
The event was born precisely to make people aware of the damaging effects that the swell has on the Venetian capital and sees every year the participation of hundreds of rowers, who depart from the San Marco basin and arrive at Punta della Dogna, for a journey of 30 kilometers. The episode comes after the protest on Saturday 9 June against the big ships and after the incident of the MSC Opera.
“OUT of THE LAGOON” Demonstration in Venice against large cruise ships
A protest involving about six thousand people against the ‘water skyscrapers’ was staged after last Sunday’s incident, when MSC Opera lost control and collided with a boat and the shore of San Basilio.
The procession, coordinated by the ‘No Large Ships’ committee, saw a number of different associations and politicians gathered. More than thirty people have asked to join the event, accompanied by loud music and flags of the Serenissima list in mourning.
Many banners carried the signs ‘No to Ships’ and ‘Yes to respect the lagoon’.
The Prefect of Venice has exceptionally decided to grant Piazza San Marco to the protesters: this was done because of the very high number of protesters. The procession, according to law enforcement sources, had almost five thousand people at the Zattere departure, but gradually increased after a few hundred meters. Finally about six thousand people paraded to the cry of ‘San Marco, San Marco’.
The square is normally forbidden by bipartisan regulation for political demonstrations since 1997, after the assault of the Serenissimi who wanted to proclaim the independence of the city from the central government of Italy.
Ships diverted to Trieste There have about 9,500 tourists in transit in Trieste, between disembarking and boarding passengers for the two cruise ships diverted from Venice, which from Saturday are moored at the Maritime Station, along the Rive. It is, in fact, two extraordinary landing stages – managed by Trieste Passenger Terminal – of the Costa Luminosa and MSC Musica motorboats.
The two cruise ships were diverted to Trieste following the lagoon accident in Venice last Sunday. The Costa Luminosa and the MSC Musica each measure 92,000 gross tons and are just under 300 meters long. In Trieste, the logistics for these two ‘touches’ were organized in a very short time: there are dozens of trucks that will supply the food for the ships and about a hundred buses to ensure transport to incoming and outgoing tourists.