Greta Thunberg, along with 36 activists from the organization Extinction Rebellion, was banned from entering Venice for 48 hours after an unauthorized protest in which they colored the waters of the Grand Canal green using fluorescein. The action took place at the Rialto Bridge and is part of a national mobilization in Italy, where rivers and canals were painted green in ten cities. Thunberg was fined 150 euros, and the authorities confiscated banners and musical instruments.
The president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, criticized the protest, considering it disrespectful to the city and its history. The activists used fluorescein as a visual tool to draw attention to the environmental crisis, under the slogan "Stop Ecocide."