No large ships committee, 'no more new excavations in Venice'

The No large ships committee returns to mobilize against the return of large ships to Venice, after the favorable opinion of the Via-Vas commission on the excavation project of the Vittorio Emanuele canal, which aims to bring large ships back to Venice to the maritime station in Santa Marta. The committee has called a public meeting on October 29, ahead of a demonstration on November 7 in San Basilio.

Also in the sights are the dredging and widening of sections of the Petroli canal, a new cruise terminal in Porto Marghera and the creation of a 46-hectare island for the disposal of extracted sludge.

"The new excavations risk worsening the erosion and further compromising the balance of the lagoon - states the committee -. All this is part of a development model incompatible with the climate crisis. After a summer that catapulted us into the climate crisis and reminded us of the future that Venice will face with the rise of sea levels, how is it possible to allow tampering interventions that aggravate the lagoon condition?".

According to the committee, which quantifies the total investment at 375 million, "the politics of this city and the multinational cruise companies think about the profit brought by the tourist monoculture without foresight and without caring about the well-being of the Venetians: just think that Santa Marta and Sacca Fisola, two of the most residential neighborhoods in Venice, will be the ones most damaged by the presence of cruise ships".