Bologna, July 30, 2026 – The canals of Bologna invaded by flamingos. The first appeared in the new Naviglio, on via Riva di Reno, then another arrived in the Moline canal. And the photos immediately went viral on social media. It is unclear whether this is a protest gesture linked to environmental movements, or perhaps related to the ‘flamingo’ protests in Albania, the ‘flamingo revolution’, against a tourism development project along the coast supported by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. So now, besides the new Naviglio, Bologna also has its flamingos: the inflatables, however, have already been removed from the canals of Bologna to prevent them from ending up in grates and overflow channels.
The viral photos on social media
The photos of the flamingos in the canals in recent days have already gone viral. The buzz started on WhatsApp and spread to Facebook and Instagram, even attracting the attention of MEP Stefano Cavedagna (FdI): “These are the Navigli of Bologna – attacks the Meloni supporter –. Residents report bad smells and dirt. And that flamingo has been there for days.”
Yesterday afternoon, the Canali di Bologna consortium also posted a story after the removal of the inflatable, urging respect for the waterways and promoting “hydrocivism”.
Canals of Bologna: “Let’s respect the city network”
Clarifying the situation is Andrea Bolognesi, director of Canali di Bologna: “The flamingo had been in the canal for a few days, but not only that: there was another one near the small window on via Piella and several have been found in various cities – explains the hydraulic engineer –. Upstream, there is probably the initiative of some activist and not a Bologna prank. We left it there for a few days, then when we saw it starting to move we removed it because if such an object ends up against the screening system, the latter ends up getting blocked.”
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“The goal is obviously safety and not an aesthetic issue, the same applied to the algae two weeks ago – insists Bolognesi –. It’s not about beauty or ugliness, but functional or not functional: we always emphasize the theme of hydrocivism, even before the Naviglio was opened, because it is not unusual to find Mobikes thrown in the small window section, metal spikes, broken poles, and other debris. It almost seems that the water surface encourages humans to throw objects inside, even bulky ones. Instead, we must have respect for our water network.”
The algae case
Just a few days ago, the canals and the new Naviglio were already at the center of attention for the presence of algae and other plant elements that caused an outcry on social media (and even among some politicians). Even then, Bolognesi insisted on clarifying that it was “a natural phenomenon due to the high water temperatures” and various atmospheric phenomena, with Arpae also taking care to start some surveys to ensure the quality of the watercourse.
In the end, the problem was resolved and the algae disappeared following rains and downpours that favored water renewal. The eyes of the people of Bologna, in any case, remain very attentive and focused on everything revolving around the new Naviglio in Riva Reno.
