The departure of at least three cruise ships from Venice in Italy was delayed on Sunday after protesters blocked the channel leading from the cruise terminal to the sea with their boats, media reports say.
"It's the most evident demonstration of the vulgar exploitation of my city. The beauty of Venice is undoubted. But the city pays for it like a prostitute that is too beautiful,” a protester told the BBC. "To see that the sophisticated city of my childhood has become Disneyland, full of bad quality souvenirs, makes me sick in the stomach. And these ships are the representation of the nightmare that Venice is living through."
But the managing director of the port where the ships dock, Roberto Perocchio, rejects all this. He points out that the liners take just minutes to pass any point in the city. Any impact on its famous vistas is fleeting. Each ship pays €150,000 for using the port’s facilities, he added.
