Italian authorities are investigating the causes of the abnormal water pigmentation around the iconic Rialto Bridge.
Water in Venice’s main canal has turned a fluorescent green near Italy’s famous Rialto Bridge as authorities try to determine the cause.
The Italian Fire Brigade released a video on Sunday showing one of their boats driving over phosphorescent water. “The Grand Canal colored green is what the fire department found this morning when we intervened together with ARPAV to collect samples and analyze this unusual color,” it said.
#28maggio #VeniceCanal Grande colorato di verde and quello che hanno costatato questa mattina i #vigilidelfuoco intervenuti insieme ad @arpaveneto To analyze the color anomaly, you need to prepare it #soccorsiquotidiani pic.twitter.com/tzKoQqEXvx
— Vigil Fuoco Veneto (@vvfveneto) May 28, 2023
ARPAV, Veneto’s regional environmental protection agency, said it has received samples of the altered waters and is working to identify the substance that changed its colour.
The Venice Prefect has called an emergency meeting of police forces to clarify the incident and consider possible countermeasures, ANSA news agency reported.
The incident echoes recent incidents in Italy where environmental groups have painted monuments. However, unlike previous cases, no activist group has come forward to claim responsibility for the events in Venice.
Last week, environmental activists climbed the Trevi Fountain in Rome and poured black liquid made from diluted biochar into its water.
The group of about 10 also stood in the fountain, holding a banner that read “We don’t pay for fossil fuels,” a nod to the campaign to end public investment and subsidies for fossil fuels.
A gondola travels along Venice’s historic Grand Canal as a patch of phosphorescent green liquid spreads [Luigi Costantini/AP]In March, activists sprayed orange paint on the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of Florence’s city hall, to draw attention to the need to tackle the climate crisis.
Back in 1968, during the Venice International Art Exhibition La Biennale, Venice’s waters had turned green when Argentine artist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu spilled non-toxic bright green fluorescent sodium in the Grand Canal.
The pigment turned light green as it was synthesized by microorganisms in the water. This was part of an artistic initiative aimed at raising awareness of increasing water pollution.