Adriatic Sea
Where's Venice?
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.
 Millions of tourists visit Venice each year.
 It is a small pedestrian (someone who travels on
foot) city.
Characteristics of the Lagoon of Venice
 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 city formed by a group
of islands).
 The lagoon is separated from 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 ’’
 People get around by foot or by vaporetto (a boat used
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for public transit), motoscafo (fast boat) or gondola
(long, single-oared and flat-boat used exclusively by
tourists).
The Grand Canal 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
throughout 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.
Why are Venetians moving
out of Venice?
a) Rent, food, restaurants and transportation are
expensive.
b) Venetians must cope with the massive presence
of tourists all year-round.
c) Increasing pollution
d) More frequent flooding
 Venetians are leaving their city as a result.
Tourism in the Lagoon of Venice:
Asset (good thing) or Problem?
 Venetians depend on tourism to make money.
 Maintaining and restoring the city generates
revenue (brings in money $) and creates jobs
for the locals (people that live there).
Problems caused by mass tourism
A) It contributes to:
 Pollution of the lagoon and city.
 The exodus (think of “exit”; a departure of a
large number of people) of island residents
(locals) to the mainland.
 Excessive consumption of drinking water
(drinking more water than is necessary)
b) Housing shortage for residents:
 Many residences (house) are being converted
(transformed) into hotels or bed and breakfasts
c) Only prestigious (famous) 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.
The three enemies threatening
Venice’s lagoon
1. Industrial pollution:
 Fumes from refineries* contain sulfur and release
acid into the air.
 Rain sends gases back to Earth.
 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.
3. Land Subsidence:
 Groundwater was pumped out of the surface to supply the
growing population with water.
(Groundwater is water that is found
underground in the cracks and spaces in soil,
sand and rock)
 As a result, the underground reservoirs became depleted
(emptied) and caused Venice to sink (subside) by 23 cm.
Groundwater
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 (factories)
have dumped pollutants in the water, poisoning the
fauna (animals) and flora (plants).
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 These industrial plants have pumped huge amounts
of groundwater from underground reservoirs.
 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 ground to sink.
The threat of Aqua Alta
 Extraordinarily high tides represent an important
threat to Venice.
 The frequency (how often it happens) and severity
is becoming more alarming (Over 50 times/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.
Construction of Breakwaters
 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.
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.
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.