Venice, the city of moving waters

Venice, a thousand-year-old city, is a marvel whose very existence is a permanent challenge. The waters that surround and flow through it have given it life, but they are also its greatest threat. Venice has always fought and survived against contrary elements. The infinite grace and beauty of Venice is matched only by the tenacity of its struggle against time itself.

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Venice was founded by local populations who were fleeing barbaric invasions of the fifth century and took refuge on the islands in the marshy lagoons bordering the Adriatic Sea. Tradition has it that Venice was officially founded on 25 March 421 by the inauguration of the first church of Venice (San Giacometo church) on the islet Rivus Altus, which became the famous Rialto.

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Venice is built on an archipelago of 124 isles. The thousand-year-old foundations that support its palaces are made up of wooden pillars planted side by side in the mud of the lagoon until they reach a layer of very hard clay soil that stabilizes them. The fact that these wooden pillars are buried in an aquatic environment protects them from putrefaction. Today, Venice has 148 churches and 170 bell towers, all leaning due to the instability of the soil of the lagoon (which is similar in composition to that of the leaning Tower of Pisa).

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Venice is constantly fighting against the onslaught of the sea. Several times a year, and particularly during the winter season, Venice is flooded by the rising waters of the lagoon (the Acqua Alta phenomenon). These floods are mainly due to particularly strong tides that seasonal winds from the south prevents from flowing back and which accumulate one after the other. Climate change is further accelerating the problem. Of the 24 largest exceptional tides (more than 140cm) in the last 140 years, half have occurred in the last decade.

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Since November 2020, a mobile dam, unique in the world, has been protecting Venice from the Acqua Alta phenomenon. The dam rests on the bottom of the lagoon. It is activated when the high tides exceed 110cm and isolates the Venice lagoon from the rest of the Adriatic Sea. The Italian acronym MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico - electromechanical experimental module), which names the dam, is directly inspired by the name of Moses, the biblical character who divided the Red Sea to allow the passage of the people of Israel, and whose name meant "saved from the waters".

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Marco Polo, one of the greatest travelers in history, famous for his adventures in China in the 13th century, was a citizen of Venice.

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The island of Burano, in the venitian arcipelago, is the lesser known sister of Murano, world center of the art of glass. The colors of Burano are lively and joyful and the town is deemed to be one of the 10 most colored places in the world. Many inhabitants continue to live in Burano, among which the artisans of the wonderful Merletto Buranello (Burano’s laces).