Venice Grand Canal turns bright green, authorities investigating why

Gondoliers could be seen punting through the phosphorescent waters, while tourists took photographs of the green section of the canal, which stretches past the famous Rialto Bridge in the centre of the tourist hotspot.

The extraordinary green colour was first spotted by local residents on Sunday, the Veneto region’s president Luca Zaia said on Twitter.

“This morning a patch of phosphorescent green liquid appeared in the Grand Canal of Venice, reported by some residents near the Rialto Bridge,” he said on Sunday.

“The prefect has called an urgent meeting with the police to investigate the origin of the liquid.”

The Italian fire service said it was helping the regional Environmental Protection Agency take samples for testing.

It appears the a blob of green was first noticed at about 9.30am and grew slowly to cover a large patch of water in the famous canal.

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.

Police were looking into whether Sunday’s action could be a protest by climate change activists, newspaper La Nuova Venezia said.

CNN reports climate action group Ultima Generazione, which poured charcoal into the Trevi Fountain in Rome last weekend, denies they had anything to do with it.

“It wasn’t us,” the group responded to a query from CNN.