Italy bans cruise ships from Venice lagoon after Unesco threat

Vessels weighing more than 25,000 tonnes barred from lagoon from 1 August

Italy has banned cruise ships from the Venice lagoon in what appears to be a definitive move welcomed by anti-cruise ship campaigners.

We finally seem to have got there," said Tommaso Cacciari, the leader of No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships), an activist group that has been protesting against the vessels for more than a decade.