Big Ship You Kill Me!

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I do not think we really need to say why the big ship should not be allowed in Venice...do we?  A minor note...this was not my fav images of the day but the one ABC decided to use! VENICE, ITALY - JANUARY 16: A protester, sailing next to a Coast Guard power boat on the Grand Canal, holds black listed banner reading "Stop the large Ships" on the day of the special meeting discussing the environmental impact of cruises in Venice on January 16, 2012 in Venice, Italy. Protest are mounting in Venice against large cruise ships crossing St Marks's basin after the Costa Concordia tragedy. (Marco Secchi)

Large Cruise Ships in Venice

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UPDATE 12/1/2012A new protest has been called for the 14th January at 3:30 pm details are here but will be from Le Zattere near the waterbus stop!

VENICE, ITALY - DECEMBER 18:  A protester holds  a flare in front of a banner as they protest against large cruise ships in St Mark's basin on December 18, 2011 in Venice, Italy. Venetians and Environmentalists are opposed to cruise ships, which plough through the shallow Venetian lagoon, damaging the fragile buildings and canal banks. (Marco Secchi)

This evening saw a protest in St Mark's Basin against the super Cruises. In the picture a protester holds a flare while on the banner is written "BIG CRUISES YOU KILL ME"

Giorgio Orsoni Mayor of Venice few days ago said cruise ships could be transferred to Porto Marghera, on the mainland, in order to minimise their environmental and aesthetic impact on Venice.

Environmentalists and heritage groups have long pointed out that as cruise ships plough through the shallow Venetian lagoon, their powerful wake and undertow damages the fragile canal banks, wooden piles and mud banks on which the city rests.

There has been a huge increase in the number of cruise ships visiting 'La Serenissima', as Venice is known, from 200 in 2000 to 510 in 2007.

Last year 1.6 million tourists arrived in Venice by cruise ship, a more than fourfold increase since 1997.

Venice's cruise ship terminal was the 10th busiest in Europe but is now the fourth most popular.

Venice Biennale head ousted

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Motto of the the Biennale di Venezia 1997.

If the Venice Biennale art exhibition now runs like a normal international event, with adequate toilets, refreshment points, marketing, press facilities and ticketing, and also manages to cover nearly 80% of its costs, it is almost entirely due to former banker Paolo Baratta, 72, chairman of the Biennale Foundation from 1998 to 2000, and from 2007 to last week.

Yesterday Baratta heard that his mandate would not be renewed and his successor would be a foodstuffs importer, Giulio Malgara, 73

I strongly believe it is the wrong choice...possibly the worst choice to be correct.

This appointment, which is reminiscent of the years before 1998 when the post was a prize allocated on the basis of party politics, was greeted with indignation by the mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, who immediately put out a statement saying: “I am convinced that Giulio Malgara is an unsuitable person to carry out the role of chairman of the Venice Biennale and that it would be a mistake to confirm him in this position. It would interrupt a vital and fruitful process that needs to be seen through to the end.” Former mayor Massimo Cacciari said: “As long as cultural appointments in this rotten system are in the hands of the political lobbies, it will go on being like this.”

The Guardian alredy commente: "Back to Earth, or Venice, with a bump. Silvio Berlusconi is trying to replace Paolo Baratta, head of the Venice Biennale, with his friend Giulio Malgara, a 73-year-old businessman whose greatest cultural achievement to date is bringing Gatorade to Italy."