For
those on a Mediterranean cruise, it's one of the most memorable sights: the city of Venice unpeeling beneath the boat, the centuries-old buildings and bell towers dwarfed by the ship, giving onlookers a spectacular bird's eye view. But for many on the shore, cruise ships in Venice have come to symbolize the excesses of modern tourism -- the type that can unleash thousands of visitors on a city ill equipped to deal with them on a "hit and run" visit to see the sights, but not spend any money in the local economy.
For years, campaigns to oust cruise ships from the lagoon have been gaining traction, with locals claiming that the ships' massive structures erode the seabed, effectively turning the lagoon into an offshoot of the Adriatic Sea.
And now, finally, the Italian government has agreed with them, passing a decree to ban cruise ships and other large vessels from the lagoon.
In a statement released to Reuters, the government said that it wanted to "reconcile the needs to protect the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Venice and its lagoon with those related to cruise activity and goods traffic."
Dario Franceschini, Italy's minister of culture, tweeted that it was the "correct decision, and one that had been waited for for years." He added that UNESCO has called for this in the past.
"Anyone who has visited Venice in recent years has been shocked to see these ships, hundreds of meters long and as tall as apartment buildings, passing through such fragile places," he said following the vote.
