Around a hundred people gathered at the Zattere to reignite the movement, this time focusing on plans for new canals and docking facilities between Marghera, Malamocco, and Tronchetto.
Editorial Staff
November 7, 2026
A protest organized by the No Grandi Navi committee took place this afternoon along the Zattere waterfront in the Dorsoduro district. The event aimed to revive the campaign against cruise ships in the Lagoon, at a time when plans for new dredging – intended to allow larger vessels to reach Marghera and the Marittima terminal in Venice’s historic port – are gradually being approved by the relevant authorities.
About a hundred people attended: a turnout far smaller than the mass mobilizations seen in the past. After a decade of protests, those earlier efforts led the Draghi government in 2021 to ban cruise ships from transiting through the San Marco Basin, while allowing them to dock at Marghera only on a temporary basis (pending the construction of a new offshore port outside the Lagoon).
Nevertheless, those present, including many familiar faces from the movement alongside a majority of young people, spoke with a sense of confidence. They remain fully aware, however, of the challenge in mobilizing the city and drawing media attention to projects that are largely invisible: underwater dredging and docking facilities located far from the city center present a stark contrast to the days when cruise ships sailed directly past St. Mark’s Square. “They are trying to enter our home again without asking for permission,” said Sofia Demasi, the committee’s spokesperson, in her opening remarks. “Today is just the beginning; I hope that in the coming months, our numbers will continue to grow.” “We don’t know when this work will begin, but as soon as they move the first excavator, we will sabotage it. The moment they try to turn Porto Marghera into a cruise hub, we’ll be there. We will block the work; we will bring everything to a halt.”
The demonstration lasted a few hours, featuring dozens of speeches in a relaxed atmosphere. Those present agreed to meet again at an assembly on November 12th (at the Morion social center) to organize a general strike for November 20th.
The Four Projects Under Consideration for Cruise Ships in the Lagoon
The protesters’ concerns relate both to the lagoon’s environment and to the tourism and cruise market, which they insist is the wrong choice for repurposing the currently underutilized areas of the Porto Marghera industrial zone. The cruise commissioner, who also serves as the president of the Port Authority, has proposed four projects. While these are legally required to be temporary, they carry the risk of having permanent impacts. The plans include: a 46-hectare, 13-meter-high artificial island for the disposal of non-reusable dredged sediment (already authorized); the dredging of the Vittorio Emanuele canal to allow cruise ships to dock near Venice once again (they currently cannot, and instead go to Marghera); the dredging of certain sections of the canal running from Malamocco to Marghera; and a new terminal in Marghera designed to accommodate cruise ships of up to 100,000 tons. The latter two projects have not yet received approval.
Source: Venezia Today
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