More than 600 cruise ships stop in Venice every year, carrying 1.6 million tourists, but the frequent passage of large ships generate social rejection among city dwellers. In fact, the city and shipping companies are already considering alternative routes for ships approaching the historic canals.
"Comitato No Grandi Navi" (committee for stopping big ships) has already organized several protests against sailing of large cruise ships so close to the city.
There are several reasons that cause protests: pollution caused by cruise ships (equivalent to 14,000 cars pass, according to the committee), the visual assault that involves the passage of these vessels (due to its high altitude), possible damage that waves may cause long-term effects on the fragile heritage whose foundations are based on the Venice lagoon (due to the disappearance or sediment movement), etc..
In 1999, Venice visited around 100,000 cruise passengers, but since then the numbers have continued to rise and last year 1.6 million passengers disembarked.
The demand does not loosen scales, as acknowledged by the port authority of the city. Some days in peak season there are up to 10 cruise ships anchored in Venice.
For now, the cruise still go to the Piazza San Marco. However, Costa and MSC cruise lines are willing to redirect their cruises by an alternative route, farther away from the historic center, although this will require building a new channel for the cruise ships.
The construction of this infrastructure, has not been approved yet and would last year and a half.
