SOAVE, Italy (AP) — Early risers in Venice have woken to the sight of a cruise ship traveling down the Giudecca canal for the first time since the pandemic, despite repeated government pledges to reroute the huge vessels on safety and environmental grounds. The 92,409-ton MSC Orchestra passed through the basin in front of St. Mark’s Canal around 6 a.m. under tugboat and port authority escort, ahead of the first post-pandemic cruise ship departure from Venice, scheduled for Saturday. Protests are amping up against the renewal of cruise traffic just 2 ½ months after Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, vowed a definitive stop to the passage of big ships through the heart of the city.
