Street artist Banksy has unveiled his latest artwork in Venice depicting a large cruise ship, highlighting the issue of overtourism in the city.
‘Venice in Oil’ is made up of nine framed paintings making up a cruise liner surrounded by gondolas and the famous Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Campanile.
It was erected during Venice Biennale art exhibition in St Marks’ Square and was shared in a video on the artist’s official Instagram account alongside the caption: ‘”setting out my stall at the Venice Biennale”
The video then pans around to show a cruise ship anchored nearby.
Huge numbers of visitors continue to strain the infrastructure of the city, and there have been calls to ban cruise ships in recent years.
Some 20 million visitors visit the city each year. On its busiest days, around 120,000 people visit this city which is home to 55,000 permanent residents.
Venice has introduced an entry fee of up to €10 (£9) for day visitors to the city, a move welcomed by local hoteliers.
The tax measure was included in Italy’s budget law for 2019 and is aimed primarily at the more than one million cruise passengers who visit Venice each year. It has led to calls for similar taxes elsewhere in Italy.