Disagreements over whether sea level rises would make Venice’s mobile dams unworkable
On 10 December 2012, the Venice branch of conservationist organization Italia Nostra issued a press release arguing that rising sea levels will make Venice’s mobile dams unworkable: Mose_Pirazzoli_comunicato1 This claim was based on statements made by Paolo Antonio Pirazzoli during a conference presentation on 28 September 2012. Pirazzoli suggested that the design of the dams … Continue reading
Book review of ‘Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and Reality’
Elisabetta Gasparoni has written a very perceptive and thorough review of my book Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and Reality (UPA, 2012). This is a link to the review on The Future Cities project website: Venice: Myth and Reality. The review was also re-published by Spiked-online on 30 November 2012 here: Is Venice really sinking? … Continue reading
Funds assigned to complete Venice’s mobile dams in 2016
This week Venice has witnessed very high flooding again. On Monday 15 October, high tides reached 110 cm above zero on Venice’s tide meter, which is the level designated as a high flood alert. Approximately 12 percent of the historical city was under water, as reported in the Venetian newspaper Il Gazzettino di Venezia on … Continue reading
Mayor of Venice reveals possible new solution to cruise ship ‘problem’
Giorgio Orsoni, Venice’s Mayor, has revealed that he has commissioned a study to investigate establishing a new maritime port for cruise ships at Marghera, which is on the mainland side of the Venetian lagoon. This proposal was outlined during a meeting on 2 October 2012 between the Mayor and representatives of the “No Big Ships” … Continue reading
New investment for innovative offshore platform to develop Venice’s port
Plans to develop Venice’s port with an offshore platform and changes to onshore facilities are progressing. In January 2013, €2.45BN was committed to this project. This was announced in an article in the Venetian newspaper La Nuova Venezia, which can be read using this link: Tre_miliardi The plan is to construct a four kilometre-shipping terminal … Continue reading
Celebrating the bicentenary of Robert Browning’s birth
The English poet and playwright Robert Browning was born in London in 1812 and died in 1889 in Venice. The bicentenary of his birth has been largely overlooked in his native Britain, but was celebrated with a festival in the town of Asolo, in the Venice region of Italy, on 8 September 2012. Asolo was … Continue reading
Venice’s ‘Baby MOSE’ dam completed
It is well-known that the biggest current infrastructure project in Italy is the ‘MOSE’ mobile dam system under construction to protect Venice from high flooding. Yet it is less well-known that a smaller dam has also been built to protect Chioggia, in the south of the Venetian lagoon. This dam, called ‘Baby MOSE’, was reported … Continue reading
Development Minister promises Venice high-speed train by end of 2013
Italy’s Minister of Development, Corrado Passera, on 10 July 2012 promised to complete vital high-speed train links to Venice before the end of 2013. This was reported in the local newspaper Corriere del Veneto on 10 July here: Passera: «Progetto Tav entro il 2013» The high-speed train will link Venice, Verona and Padua, with the … Continue reading
Reactions to the cancellation of Pierre Cardin’s Light Palace for Venice
French fashion designer Pierre Cardin had designed a Light Palace for Venice, which is close to where he was born. The Light Palace, or Palais Lumière, was planned to be constructed on the edge of the Marghera industrial areas bordering Venice’s lagoon. But on 28 June 2013, Cardin’s nephew, Rodrigo Basilicati, who is the CEO … Continue reading
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