The preservation of Venice and of its citizens can no longer wait

Exclusive interview of the President of the port of Venice and his reaction to the recent floods in his city. Venice has been hit hard by exceptional weather events, which unfortunately are repeated more and more often. You have just called for solidarity with the main cruise lines that visit the port, what do you expect? Two days after the exceptional tide of last November 12th, I immediately wrote to all the cruise companies that usually comes to our Port inviting them to contribute to a fundraising for the city of Venice, obtaining concrete feedbacks right from the start. Being a public administrator in charge of managing the most important economic and employment area of the north east of Italy (the Venetian ports employ over 19.000 workers, 4.500 of which in the cruise sector), I thought it was necessary to support the population in overcoming this huge tragedy. So I considered that a concrete sign from the cruise sector could also strengthen the relationship of trust with Venice citizens. With this initiative, we also want to convey the message that the port and its workers are an important part of the city’s social fabric and that they fully participate to this common suffering period. I want to clarify that Venice and its lagoon are recovering from the last month disaster. I am convinced that over the next years we will be able to find the right balance to successfully safeguard our territory, together with its economy, even facing the difficult climate challenges of the near future, learning from the past and applying the technologies of the 21st century, because Venice must continue to live, not as an open-air museum but as a center of economic development, innovation and employment. Faced with such phenomena, City and Port are one and the challenge is global. How do you imagine the role of the port in the future rehabilitation of Venice, and for…