On Sunday, the people of Venice awoke to find that the waters of their city’s Grand Canal had turned a mysterious fluorescent green. It was not immediately clear why. But now, the city authorities have announced that they have been able to find out the reason behind the green waters of the famous canal.
Investigations showed that a part of the water of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, on Sunday temporarily turned fluorescent green, due to the presence of the non-toxic substance fluorescein, which is usually used to test sewage systems, local authorities said Monday.
A statement from the Veneto Regional Authority for Environmental Protection and Prevention indicated that the analyzes “showed the presence of fluorescein in the samples taken.”
He added that the results “did not prove the presence of toxic elements in the samples that were analyzed,” without specifying the source of the presence of fluorescein in the Grand Canal.
For his part, the president of the province of Venice, Luca Zaia, announced on Twitter that the green substance does not represent any danger of polluting the water.
Zaya added that he considered that the substance was deliberately poured into the waters of the canal, warning that this could lead to similar actions.
He continued, “Unfortunately, Venice has become the scene of actions that go beyond borders. An adequate and strong response is needed,” but he did not specify what he meant in this context.
Fluorescein is often used to trace the trajectory of networks or to identify reflections between wastewater and rainwater systems.
A number of residents of the region reported a change in the color of the waters of the Grand Canal, amid much speculation. The green waters of the famous Venetian canal were seen near the world-famous Rialto Bridge.
Local daily La Nuova Venezia reported that police are investigating the possibility that environmental activists were behind the phenomenon.
Recently, environmental activists have carried out similar actions at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome, as well as at the ancient Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
This is not the first time that the waters of the Grand Canal have turned green. In 1968, on the sidelines of the 34th Venice Film Festival, Argentine artist Nicholas García Uriburu threw green paint into these waters, in a move to raise awareness of environmental issues.
