The mystery is no longer one in Venice. The spectacular transformation on Sunday of a section of the Grand Canal, which temporarily turned fluorescent green, was due to the presence of fluorescein, local authorities announced on Monday. This non-toxic substance is often used to trace the path of poorly known networks or to identify inversions between wastewater and rainwater networks.
The analyzes revealed “the presence of fluorescein in the samples taken”, indicated the Regional Agency for Prevention and Environmental Protection of Veneto (Arpav). The results “did not demonstrate the presence of toxic elements in the samples analyzed”, she added, without however specifying the origin of the presence of this substance in the Grand Canal.
A Grand Canal already green in 1968
The color change had been reported by residents, raising many questions. According to the local daily La Nuova Veneziathe police would also have sought to know if climate change activists could be at the origin of the phenomenon.
It is not the first time that the Grand Canal has turned green. In 1968, Argentinian artist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu dyed his waters green using a fluorescent dye during the 34th Venice Biennale, as part of an action to raise awareness of ecology.