The Italian government has announced it will temporarily divert large cruise ship traffic from Venice to Marghera, an industrial port on the mainland opposite Venice. The decision was made on March 25 with the aim of “protecting a historical and cultural heritage not only of Italy, but of the entire world,” according to a statement from the Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, the Minister of Tourism, Massimo Garavaglia, and the Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Enrico Giovannini.
The statement emphasizes that this is only a temporary solution while a better one is being developed. During the meeting, the four ministers also launched a competition for ideas to remove the landings from the lagoon and resolve the problem of large ship traffic in Venice in a “structural and permanent” way.
Previously, cruise ships could use the tourist terminal in the historic center of Venice, near St. Mark's Square, sailing along the Giudecca canal.
