Photo by James Shillinglaw
Venetians hoping to rid their waters of mammoth cruise ships now have supporters of the A-List variety.
For those in and around Venice, Italy, the sight of big cruise ships has become expected but hardly accepted. A petition pleading for a ban on huge ships moving through the city was recently sent to Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi and the heritage minister Dario Franceschini, both of whom now have some mighty impressive signatures.
Both The Telegraph and The Daily Mail report some of Hollywood's heaviest of hitters have called the plight of a quaint but altogether popular destination their own.
Here is a breakdown of some who have added their name to the petition:
- Michael Douglas
- Cate Blanchett
- Sir Michael Caine
- Diane Lane
- Harvey Keitel
- Susan Sarandon
- Tilda Swinton
- Julie Christie
- Rob Lowe
- Edward Norton
- Susan Sarandon
- Isabella Rossellini
- Don Johnson
Hey, don't look now but Johnson managed to get on quite the impressive bill. Philip Michael Thomas may want to see what getting on a similar list might entail.
The Daily Mail posted the entire letter, which follows below:
'Dear Prime Minister, dear Minister,
Having prevailed against flood, pestilence, and war for more than thirteen centuries, Venice, the Queen of the Adriatic, and unparalleled UNESCO Word Heritage site, now, in a moment of relative tranquility, finds herself mortally threatened by the daily transit of gargantuan ocean liners, indifferent to the probable risk of catastrophe.
Since the flood of 1966, Italy and countless Italian and international supporters have contributed to the defense of the world's most fragile city, eternally subject to destruction.
The absolute lack of respect presented by the outlandish spectacle of the ongoing obstruction and potentially destruction, of one of humanity's pre-eminent monuments is not only dumbfounding but both morally and culturally unacceptable.
We urgently request an immediate and irrevocable halt to the traffic of the Big Ships in front of San Marco and along the Giudecca Canal putting an end to this senseless devastation.'
Of course, initial thoughts might be this is much ado about first-world problems. At least, that's what some commenters at various reports seem to think.
There is a very real concern, however, echoed by multiple reports, that incessant traffic by big ships can lead to harm to the Giudecca Canal, possibly even potential for a Costa Concordia-like disaster.
In some respects, there is already a bit of good news to report.The Daily Mail reports, "January brought a reduction of 20 per cent on the number of ships weighing more than 40,000 tonnes authorised to enter the Giudecca Canal."
Although, The Telegraph's Nick Squires states things aren't nearly as simple: "Last year the Italian government proposed banning luxury liners of more than 96,000 tons because of their impact on the shallow lagoon, but the decree was overturned by a regional tribunal earlier this year."
For the moment, the hope for those wishing to put an end to huge ships wading amid shallow waters is that red-carpet swag can sway government officials.
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