Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday expressed "great satisfaction" at what he called the "important" decision by a UNESCO committee not to include Venice on a list of endangered World Heritage sites.
"Minister Di Maio expressed great satisfaction at the important decision achieved thanks to the determination of Italy's government, which recently adopted a long-awaited measure banning cruise ships from sailing into St Mark's basin and from entering the Giudecca canal from 1 August," said a foreign ministry statement.
The Italian government "has reiterated its full and constant readiness to work with UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre to ensure increasing protection for the iconic city of Venice through the preservation of its Outstanding Universal Value," the statement added.
