Police have launched an investigation in Venice after a section of the Italian city’s famed Grand Canal turned a bright phosphorescent green colour on Sunday.
A section of Venice’s Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge turned a bright shade of neon green on Sunday morning, sparking concerns about the health of the local residents.
The governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia said in a statement on social media that local authorities convened an urgent meeting with the police force to investigate the origin of the green liquid in the canal. Environmental specialists have also been tasked with testing the safety of the waters, Il Sore 24 Ore reported.
It is not the first time that the waters in Venice were turned green, with Argentinian artist and climate activist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu dying the waters a similar shade of neon green in 1968 to supposedly raise awareness about environmental issues.
The incident is reminiscent of previous actions committed by far-left eco-warrior groups, with just last week the Last Generation organisation being widely condemned for dumping black dye into the water at Rome’s famed Trevi fountain.
Given that the fountain runs on a recycling system, the action by the climate radicals ironically forced local authorities to dispose of hundreds of thousands of litres of water.
However, so far, no environmentalist group has come forward to claim the turning of the Venice Canal green and the Last Generation has officially denied involvement.
“We have nothing to do with it and it was not us, we usually claim our demonstrations,” they said.
