Venice police investigate bright green liquid in Grand Canal

Gondolas navigate by the Rialto Bridge on Venice's historical Grand Canal as a patch of phosphorescent green liquid spreads. Photo / AP.

Police in Venice are investigating the source of a phosphorescent green liquid patch that appeared Sunday in the city’s famed Grand Canal.

The governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, posted a photo of the green liquid that spread through the water near the arched Rialto Bridge. He said that nearby residents had reported the phosphorescent green liquid and official has requested that police investigate the origin of the liquid.

Water samples were taken and CCTV footage was being reviewed, with local gondolier pilots and boat captains questioned.

🟢🟢🟢 Stamattina nel #CanalGrande di #Venezia è apparsa una chiazza di liquido verde fosforescente, segnalata da alcuni residenti all’altezza del Ponte di Rialto.
Il prefetto ha convocato una riunione urgente con le forze di polizia per approfondire l’origine del liquido. pic.twitter.com/te0JVCfodQ

— Luca Zaia (@zaiapresidente) May 28, 2023

Images on social media show a bright patch of green in the canal along an embankment lined with restaurants.

Police were looking into whether the green colouring could be a protest by climate activists, reported the local daily La Nuova Venezia after a group called Ultima Generazione poured charcoal into the Trevi Fountain in Rome last week.

People look at Venice's historical Grand Canal as a patch of phosphorescent green liquid spreads. Photo / AP

A gondola crosses Venice's historical Grand Canal as a patch of phosphorescent green liquid spreads. Photo / AP

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 with fluorescein for the 34th Venice Biennale in a stunt to promote ecological awareness. Fluorescein turns a bright green when synthesized by micro-organisms in the water.