Did Venice Ban Cruise Ships?

Italy has issued a decree banning large cruise and container ships from entering the city’s Giudecca canal, which leads to the historic St. Marks Square. This comes after a massive 13-deck cruise ship crashed into a wharf in Venice in June 2019, injuring five people. The Italian government announced on Tuesday that it was banning large cruise ships from entering Venice’s waters and declaring the city’s lagoon a national monument.

The decision comes days before declaring Venice’s waterways a national monument, which risks being declared an imperiled world heritage site. The cruise ship ban existing in legislation is not so simple, as only months after being barred, a 92,000-ton cruise ship was forced to ban cruises from its center in 2021. The decision comes days after the Italian government declared the lagoon a national monument and banned large cruise ships from entering the city center.

However, the reality of the situation is not so simple. Only months after being barred, a 92,000-ton cruise ship was forced to ban cruises from its center in 2021, after damage to the lagoon saw UNESCO threaten to put the city on its endangered list. The new Venice cruise ship ban is intended to protect the historic city from damage caused by the largest vessels. The 25,000-tonne limit means only small ships will be allowed to enter the city center.