(ANSA) - VENICE, JUNE 19 - "Our generation has the moral duty to enhance research and business to defend the marine environment. We just do what parents do to protect their children because we firmly believe that sustainability is crucial for the future generations", said Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro talking about the Venice Boat Show, the world-wide show of pleasure boats that will open today and close on June 23 in the Arsenale. At yersterday's preview for the press, the mayor played the role of guide for all the journalists who visited the 120 booths. "Venice - Mr. Brugnaro underlined - wants to rethink marine culture and mobility, and if Venice wins, then the whole Adriatic Sea will win". Among the most important exhibitors in Venice are the Ferretti Group, Monte Carlo Yachts, Cantiere Navale Vittoria of Adria (Rovigo), Cranchi. The international trade fair, whose motto is "The naval art returns home", includes a water basin of 50,000 square meters, half inside the base of the Navy, which houses the headquarters of the Institute of Maritime Military Studies and the main Command of the Armed Forces in Venice. "You can admire small boats - Brugnaro recalled - and then visit the most luxurious ones. The boat show takes places simultaneously with the Art Biennale, world's largest art exhibition, and we propose ourselves as 'naval art', and we are willing to support the whole country's relaunch". The show aims at relaunching the Adriatic Sea as a market for shipbuilding and leisure marinas and aims to be not a competitor to other salons in Italy, but a new opportunity to explore new markets, mainly in Eastern Europe. "We bear the name of Venice - Brugnaro underlined - a city made of courage, open to the whole world. We have an international airport, one of the most active in Italy. We welcome all the peoples of the Adriatic area and all the sea people with open arms", he added (ANSA).