The Lagoon of Venice Popular yet threatened Venice

The Lagoon of Venice: Popular, yet threatened

Venice is a Heritage City People come from all around the world to admire the city’s heritage, which includes 16 000 works of art, 400 palaces, 100 churches and 30 convents. Ruzzini Palace Hotel Casa Caburlotto

Millions of tourists visit Venice each year. It is a small pedestrian city with a limited capactiy for visitors.

Questions of Study for this Unit Is this tourist area at risk? From what, exactly? Will Venice still be standing for tourists to visit a hundred years from now?

Characteristics of the Lagoon of Venice is in northern Italy, in a region called Venetia.

The city is in the middle of the lagoon. It is made up of a group of 118 islands connected by a network of 200 canals. Its an urban archipelago (a group of islands).

The lagoon is separated by the Adriatic Sea by a long sandbar called the Lido. *A lagoon is a shallow body of saltwater separated by the open sea by a low sandbank or coral reef.

Three inlets connect the lagoon to the sea: the Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia. These openings maintain a balance between fresh water, flowing in from the rivers and salt water, carried by the tides.

The Grand Canal, or ‘’Main street ’’ No cars in Venice People get around by foot or by vaporetto (a boat used for public transit), motoscafo (fast boat) or gondola (log, single-oared and flatboat used exclusively by tourists). The Grand Canal is a waterway that is nearly 4 km long. Almost all streets are connected to it. It divides the city in two sections. It was built so that boats could unload their cargo (merchandise) in the city.

Mass Tourism In 2004, the city received 15 million tourists Consequently, the population has fallen to less than 60 000 in 2004 from 174 808 back in 1951. It is becoming a city focused solely on mass tourism.

B) Rent, food, restaurants and transportation are expensive. The bustling Rialto market, one of the oldest food markets in the world, believed to have been trading since 1097

C) Venetians must cope with the massive presence of tourists all year-round.

D) Increasing pollution

E) More frequent flooding. Venetians are leaving their city as a result.

Tourism in the Lagoon of Venice: Asset or Problem? Venetians living on the island on the mainland depend on tourism for its main economic activities/revenue. Maintaining and restoring the city generates revenue and jobs as well. Unfortunately, mass tourism has also caused numerous problems:

A) It contributes to: The deterioration of the lagoon and city through pollution The exodus (a departure of a large number of people) of island residents to the mainland (more and more Venetians are leaving the island moving to the mainland) Excessive consumption of drinking water Deterioration of drinking water and sites Seaweed which is taken from the Venice lagoon is growing because of pollution and has to be taken out. . . and here's a picture of what it looks like. . .

B) Housing shortage for residents: Many residences are being converted (transformed) into hotels or bed and breakfasts Zaguri Bed and Breakfast - Venice

C) Only prestigious buildings are getting renovated: The rest of the city is left in the hands of developers. As a consequence, the canals and foundations in less popular areas are in need of repair.

What is threatening Venice The lagoon has three (3) enemies: the sea (floods), the land (industrial pollution) and people (tourists). 1. Industrial pollution (pollution caused by factories etc. ): Fumes from the refineries* contain sulfur and release acid into the air. The rain sends these gases back to Earth. It corrodes stonework, harms plant life and pollutes the lagoon. *A place where some raw material, such as oil or sugar cane, is refined or purified.

2. Floods: Venice is built on water. Documents reveal that floods have been occuring because of high tides, low atmospheric pressure, heavy rain and the city’s gradual sinking. GO TO: http: //darkroom. baltimoresun. com/2012/11/venice-floods-following-heavy-rains-and-strongwinds/#2

3. Land Subsidence: Groundwater was pumped out of the surface to supply the growing population. (Groundwater is water that is found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand rock. Groundwater is stored in--and moves slowly through--layers of soil, sand rocks called aquifers. ) As a result, the underground reservoirs were reduced and caused Venice to subside (to sink to a lower level) by 23 cm. The problem has been countered by bringing water from outside the area.

The Cost of Development Since the 1950’s, the economic and tourist development of Venice has shattered the fragile balance of the lagoon. Chemical and petrochemical industries have dumped pollutants in the water, poisoning the fauna (all the animals in a particular area) and flora (all the plants of a particular area).

These industrial plants (factories) have pumped huge amounts of groundwater (the water beneath the surface of the ground) from underground reservoirs, which support the land. Huge amounts of water was also pumped out to supply the increasing number of residents who have moved to the mainland This slowly caused the unsupported ground to subside (to sink to a lower level).

The threat of Acqua Alta Extraordinarily high tides represent an important threat to Venice. The frequency and severity is becoming more alarming (Over 50 times a year). Strong winds over the Adriatic Sea and a drop in atmospheric pressure cause the water levels to rise in Venice.

The MOSE Project Scientists have devised various solutions to save the city from waters. The idea is to install floodgates (pontoons*) which would block incoming water whenever the tide rises above one metre. *Approximately 80 pontoons have been installed to date.

Construction of Breakwaters In addition to the MOSE project, scientists have also constructed breakwaters* in front of the inlets to deflect one third of the tide from entering the lagoon *It’s a barrier with thousands of boulders; supported by aqua-pods.

Historical Information Merchant ships brought all kinds of expensive goods to Venice using Mavna ships.

Examples of Expensive Goods Silks Fine Cottons Ivory Gold and Jewels Coffee Fine china Spices

Merchants from Venice sold these goods all over Western Europe and made lots of money.

Fleets of galleys (armed naval vessels) patrolled the seas and protected merchant ships against pirates.

Trade made Venice Wealthy The Venetian economy started off in the early 5 th century. Trade played a major role in Venice's economy.

Venetians began settling on these Islands in the 5 th century AD to escape attackers on the mainland. The houses were built on piles (wooden posts). These piles are wooden posts that are driven into the soft ground to support whatever structure is above it.

Causeway in Venice A causeway was recently built to connect the mainland to the ancient city. A causeway is a raised road that stretched across wetland.

What are Venetian Masks? Venetian masks have a long history of protecting their wearer's identity during promiscuous or decadent activities. Formed from papier-mâché and wildly decorated with fur, fabric, gems, or ribbons. Re-emerged as the emblem of Carnevale. Street fair celebrating hedonism.

Venetian masks emerged in a climate of cultural and religious repression during the Medieval era in Italy. People wore the colorful masks to free themselves from judging neighbors, all of whom knew each other in such a small city. Most Venetians preferred to remain anonymous when gambling, dancing etc. Even some of the clergy would dress up to go dancing.

How do Critics feel About Project Moses? Critics of Project Moses believe that the flooding problem in Venice has been exaggerated. Critics also believe that the floodgates will keep the sea out of Venice and will trap the sewage in an already filthy lagoon! Solution…

Solution: The floodgates will only be used 4 -5 times a year. Breakwaters will be built near the inlets to keep 2/3 of the high tides from entering the lagoon.

Breakwaters Divers plan to place many fabrics along the seafloor. These fabrics will be nailed to the seafloor with long, thick iron nails. The fabrics will be covered with small-sized rocks. Larger-sized rocks and eventually boulders will be placed over the smaller ones to ensure stability.

Interlocking Aqua-pods a MUST! Finally, interlocking aqua-pods will be placed along the walls of the breakwater. Must withstand the constant pounding of the tides and strength of the currents. Without these aqua-pods, the breakwaters would eventually collapse because of the strong waters.

How are Aqua-pods Constructed? Cement is poured into a mould It takes 48 hours to dry. The aqua-pods can not be installed unless they pass inspection. In the documentary, we saw that adding wet rocks to the mix botched up several aquapods. There was too much water in the mix!

Protests as Moses is ordered to hold back the sea from Venice BRUSHING aside protests by environmentalists, Silvio Berlusconi has announced that a controversial flood barrier to stop Venice sinking will be built despite soaring costs. An estimated cost is 3. 4 billion US dollars. This decision was reached after a cabinet meeting attended by officials from Venice and the Veneto region to decide the fate of this project. Signor Berlusconi declared that it would be completed by 2011. “All doubts have vanished — there is no way back, ” the Italian Prime Minister said. “Venice is a pearl for Venetians, Europe and the world. ”

The project, code named M. O. S. E. — won government approval in January 2003, after 30 years of debate and delay. Work started 3 months later, when Signor Berlusconi laid the foundation stone. However, critics, including the Mayor of Venice, have condemned the project as a costly folly and have demanded that it be shelved. Environmental pressure groups have accused Signor Berlusconi of wanting to leave his mark on history regardless of the consequences.

The plan involves 79 hinged flood barriers designed to rise from the seabed when high tides surge through St Mark’s Square. This occurrence is happening more frequently. Some experts have forecast that Venice could sink altogether within a century.

Environmentalistsargue that the panels will cause more damage than the floods, turning Venice’s lagoons and canals into a stagnant pond. The Italian branch of the World Wildlife Fund recommended closing down Venice’s cargo port and banning cruise liners as a more effective alternative. That would have a negative impact on Venice’s economy.

The idea of a barrier first arose in 1966, after the disastrous 194 cm flood that brought 1000 s of volunteers to Venice to help to save priceless art treasures. The cost of Moses has nearly doubled since it was approved. This month protesters took boats to the construction site in the mouth of the Venice lagoon in an attempt to hold up work. Signor Berlusconi said that he was willing to makes changes to the project in the light of suggestions for improvement, but the decision to build the dam was final.

Signor Berlusconi insisted that the Moses barrier was “the solution to a problem that has always existed”. Conservation groups said that they had sent a dossier to the European Commission claiming that the flood barrier infringes EU environmental laws. Claudio Celado, a spokesman for the conservationists, said that the Venetian lagoon was “a fragile site of high ecological value. . . The methods being used are causing irreversible damage to habitats and species protected by European directives. ”