Decisions made for Venice cruise ships, channel routes and offshore platform.

A meeting was held on 7 November 2017 in Rome of the ‘Comitatone’ committee charged with managing Venice and its lagoon. This committee includes representatives of the national government and local administrators, including the Mayor of Venice.   After years of debate about different scenarios for cruise ships navigating the Venetian Lagoon, it was decided … Continue reading

Gender and gondoliers in #Venice; my comments in The Guardian

On 29 June 2017, the UK newspaper The Guardian published an article titled ‘Patriarchy on the canal: why is there only one female gondolier in Venice?’, written by Angela Giuffrida. To read the article in full, click on the link below; Patriarchy on the canal: why is there only one female gondolier in Venice? The … Continue reading

Article in The Epoch Times on Venice and tourism with contrasting views, including my own

This insightful and perceptive article by Angela Giuffrida was published on 31 May 2017 in The Epoch Times, which is based in the USA but is published in 21 languages and 35 countries. It includes different interpretations of how tourism is impacting Venice today and its historical role, including my own comments. Click on the … Continue reading

The mobile dam system in Venice is delayed by four years, but claimed as being six months late.

After an agreement on Wednesday 29 March 2017, an article in the newspaper Corriere Del Veneto claimed on 30 March 2017 that the delivery of Venice’s MOSE mobile dam system had slipped by six months. Yet the very same newspaper published an article on 28 April 2015 in which it was stated that the same … Continue reading

Cruise ship programme on BBC World Service including my comments on Venice

UNESCO Committee undemocratically calls for blocking of projects backed by Venice’s elected City Council and funded by Italy’s government

During the 40th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee in Istanbul on 14 July 2016, an ultimatum was issued to Italian authorities threatening to remove Venice from its World Heritage List and add it to its List of World Heritage in Danger. UNESCO has charged the Italian … Continue reading

Should we build in flood-prone areas? Contribution to debate in Prospect Magazine

Following heavy flooding in the UK, Prospect Magazine published an article on 8 January 2016 with five different contributors debating whether construction in flood-prone areas should go ahead. Although Venice is a very unique environment, I ask if Venetians could innovate to cope with flooding, why can’t people in other flood-prone places be defended? This … Continue reading

International Business Times article: Changing Oceans Provide Opportunities, not Apocalypse in Venice & Elsewhere

The International Business Times published the article in the link and text below by Dominic Standish on 13 October 2015. Link: Barack Obama’s apocalyptic warnings about our oceans betray the opportunities hidden in their depths These themes will be explored further in this debate in London on 17 October 2015 at the Barbican Centre: Plumbing … Continue reading

Battle over Venice cruise ship exhibition indicative of wider battle for the oceans

Venice’s Maritime Port An exhibition depicting cruise ships sailing through the Venetian lagoon will open in Venice on 22 October 2015 after it was previously blocked by the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro. The exhibition of photographs by Gianni Berengo Gardin was due to open on the weekend of 19 September 2015 in the prestigious … Continue reading

Inside Venice’s bid to hold back the tide – article on the city’s MOSE dams in The Guardian

This article by journalist Antonia Windsor was published by The Guardian (UK) in its resilient cities series on 16 June 2015. The article is a perceptive insight into the discussion about Venice sinking and especially protecting the city with the MOSE flood barriers, which are nearing completion. There are numerous quotes from key figures involved … Continue reading

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