A gross green blob in Venice’s Grand Canal was due to fluorescein, a non-toxic substance used for testing wastewater networks, according to local authorities.
It comes after images surfaced on social media showing a bright green patch around the famous Rialto Bride, near a popular dining area full of restaurants.
When residents noticed the discolouration last weekend, it prompted police to investigate amid speculation it could be a stunt by environmentalists, local publication La Nuova Venezia reported.
But analysis showed “the presence of fluorescein in samples taken”, according to the Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Arpav).
The results “have not shown the presence of toxic elements in the samples analysed”, the statement said, without specifying the origin of the substance.
It is not the first time the Grand Canal has turned green.
In 1968, Argentine artist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu dyed the waters of Venice’s Grand Canal green with a fluorescent dye during the 34th Venice Biennale in a stunt to promote ecological awareness.
Meanwhile, last month environmental activists used vegetable charcoal to turn the waters of Rome’s Trevi Fountain black in a protest against fossil fuels.
Photos showed the protesters standing in the fountain’s dark water with signs before police officers waded through the water to remove them.
Anti-climate change activist group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) said in a statement eight protesters from the “let’s not pay for fossil” campaign were there to demand an immediate end to public subsidies for fossil fuels.
They linked the protest to deadly floods in the country’s northeast where 14 people were killed.
However, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the latest chemical dump in Venice with police speculating it could be a protest by climate change activists.
– with AFP