Giant cruise ships that tower over Venice and threaten the foundations of the city’s historic centre will be banned from docking in the port.

The romantic Italian city has become a victim of its own popularity, with an influx of tourists clogging the narrow canals and cobbled streets on their holidays .

And the large pleasure boats which bring in 1.4 million tourists a year dwarf the city’s beautiful church towers, the city’s famous views and sometime even block out the sun.

Now, after months of complaints from resident and environmentalists, Venice officials have officially banned the huge ships from steaming past St Mark’s Square.

The plan, which will be brought in over the next three to five years, will see the tourist ships rerouted to a nearby industrial port.

The luxury cruise liner 'MSC Divina' passes in front of St Mark's Square (
Image:
REX/Shutterstock)

Any boats over 55,000 tonnes will be directed to the mainland’s Marghera port to stop the boats from sailing through the Giudecca cancel, one of Venice’s main waterways.

From there, visitors will be bussed into the city.

The plan will “guarantee the safeguarding of the city and is a necessary decision after years of debate, rows and battles”, Pier Paolo Baretta, a junior Treasury minister, said.

And Italian transport minister Graziano Delrio said the most recent plan was a "real and definitive solution".

"Let's absolutely keep large ships away from the Giudecca Canal and the Basin of San Marco."

The ban is due to concerns over damaging buildings of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And it comes after almost 99 per cent of the 18,000 Venetians who voted in an unofficial referendum in June supported proposals for a ban.

The ships will now dock at Marghera on the other side of the lagoon (
Image:
AFP)

Venice has seen several protests from residents over the large ships sailing into the city, with some demonstrators even diving into canals to stop the ships passing.

At present 500 cruise ships a year steam past St Mark’s Square before heading down the Giudecca Canal to the city’s passenger port.

But residents told officials they are fed up with tourists who clog up the streets and the narrow waterways before heading back on board.

However the new plan was attacked by campaigners, who said that they wanted the vessels barred altogether.

“This was the worst decision they could have taken,” Luciano Mazzolin, an organiser of the referendum, said.

“The ships will be diverted along the dredged canal, increasing erosion in the lagoon, which may increase the high waters that swamp the city.”

The ban is due to concerns over damaging buildings of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (
Image:
REX/Shutterstock)

Tommasso Cacciari, from the No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) protest group, which organised the June referendum, told the Guardian he did not believe the problem would address pollution concerns.

And he added: “They haven’t found a solution, there is no plan – basically, nothing will change. They say the largest ships will go to Marghera – but where will they put them?

“They say all of this will be done within four years, but even projects in Dubai do not get completed in that space of time.”

In November 2014 ships larger than 96,000 tons, with a capacity of up to 3,500 passengers, were banned from the city.