At last - some restrictions on enormous cruise ships visiting Venice: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-...entre/11398434

Finally!

Odd...a cruise ship ON the Grand Canal itself. "some residents complained" apparently not all of them. I guess the various tour operators and merchants are thrilled about potential loss of revenue, too.

A step in the right direction.

They're not banned from visiting at all, just from the Grand Canal/centre and sent to a mooring a bit further away than at present. And it's been phased in over several years because they have to build new facilities for docking at Marghera: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a8044026.html

Hurrah!

That is good news, there should be restrictions. I do think it will be hard to find the perfect balance.

Here is how I felt about it a few years ago. I still feel the same way.

I still have to see a big ship going up the Canale Grande.
And I wonder why a city like Venice built a massive cruise port infrastructure and then wonders why big cruise ships go there.
If they had not built it, there would not have been big ships.
Homemade problems, I would say.

Big ships never used the Canale Grande of course. It's way too shallow, narrow and the bridges very low.

They get banned from the Giudecca channel.

Thanks for the clarification.

I don't know where that news item came from. I've searched all Italian news services and don't see anything on new regulations about giant cruise ships since the last two accidents, the most recent over a month ago. I also don't think the Italian (national) government has any way to impose such a rule.

As someone else pointed out above, any ban would have await the opening of an alternative channel, which doesn't seem to be proceeding with celerity.
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The local government depends for a substantial portion of its budget on the cruise ships, which don't get to sail up the St. Mark's Canal and the Giudecca Canal for free. So they are a bit lukewarm on the idea of banning the cruise ships. Also vendors of pizza slices, gelato, and fake Murano glass are opposed to any such ban.

The most radical proposal I've heard is a restriction on the size of the cruise ships that can pass in the center of Venice. That was not recent. If anyone can point me to a first-hand source, preferably Italian, for this article, I'll be grateful to know about it.

Big cruise ships are pollutants - both for people and the environment. I hope these steps can conserve Venice.

The seriousness of the proposal is contained in the words "potrebbe essere possibile". The article says that it "may be possible", starting in 2020, to reduce the number of cruise ships in the St. Mark's basin by up to one third. They've been saying stuff like that for years.

The original article, from Australian ABC news, seems to have no foundation.

Here's another gem from that article (my translation): "The terminal Ro Ro at Fusina could be an alternative... even though the docks are still being constructed."

And another: "When the plans for the passage of the large ships are complete in all their elements, they can be brought up to public discussion."

Maybe our grandchildren will live to see it.

Great photo werth!

Indeed it is! Why do people go on those horrible things? Its like an apt bldg turned on its side--hideous!

I'm surprised and disappointed if the ABC have jumped the gun - they're usually pretty reliable but maybe there was some wishful thinking going on? bvlenci, I'll be keen to hear if you hear anything further in Italy.