Venetian officials are investigating after a patch of green water appeared on Sunday morning in the famous Grand Canal.
A patches of phosphorescent green liquid appeared in the Grand Canal of Venice yesterday, reported by some residents near the Rialto Bridge. Veneto regional president Luca Zaia on Twitter said that the prefect has called for an urgent meeting with police to investigate the origin of the liquid.
The local prefect spokesperson told CNN that they immediately took water samples, reviewed CCTV surveillance tape, and asked local gondolier pilots and boat drivers if they saw anything suspicious, before calling an emergency meeting to investigate the cause of the green water noting that no environmental group had claimed responsibility.
The verdant blob was first noticed around 9:30 a.m. CET 3.30 a. ET and grew slowly, according to multiple images released on social media, which showed gondolas, water taxis and water bus boats skimming through the emerald substance.
In a statement, city councilman Andrea Pegoraro immediately blamed environmental activists who have been attacking Italian cultural heritage sites in recent months.
The Ultima Generazione group, which poured charcoal into the Trevi Fountain in Rome last weekend, told CNN when asked if they were behind the green water. Italy's fire brigade tweeted that they were assisting with providing samples and technical assistance to the ARPA Veneto, the regional agency that oversees the environmental state of the Grand Canal, which are conducting analysis to establish the nature of the substance in the water. A number of theories surfaced online, including that it could be algae or a substance illegally dispersed in the canal.
This is not the first time a color change has happened on the Grand Canal in Venice.
In 1968 Argentine artist Nicol s Garc a Uriburu dyed the waters of the canal green with a fluorescent dye called Fluorescein during the annual Venice Biennale. The plan aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and the relationship between nature and civilization.
The curious hue comes as the city celebrates the Vogalonga boat event, created to restore Venetian traditions and restore Venetian traditions and help spread attention for the environment and nature as well as the architecture Biennale, which opened last weekend.