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.
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.
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.