Monsters or a must? Venice tussles with return of cruise ships
The arrival of the MSC Orchestra has rekindled tensions over the pros and cons of the giant vessels
The MSC Orchestra, the first cruise ship to visit Venice in 18 months, sails out of the city. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
The MSC Orchestra, the first cruise ship to visit Venice in 18 months, sails out of the city. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Mon 14 Jun 2021 00.00 EDT
From his booth facing the gondola station at St Mark’s Square, the photographer Maurizio Torresan is as much a witness to the ebb and flow of Venice’s high tides as he is to its tourists.
The voyage heralded the return of cruise ships to Venice but reignited an anti-cruise movement that opposes the passage of the enormous ships through the fragile lagoon.