Venice Must Be Saved

The city of Venice captures the imagination and intoxicates the soul. As if by magic, it appears to float in the lagoon at the head of the Adriatic Sea. For a time in the late Middle Ages, the relatively small city was the most powerful political and economic power in Europe. Among its famed citizens were the master architect Andrea Palladio, the painter Titian, and other artistic masters, who made Venice one of the centers of the Renaissance and the envy of the entire world. To this day, the architecture of Venice brings visitors from across the world.

Over the course of its thirteen-century history, Venice has had to defend itself from the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Turks, innumerable Italian rivals, and the French armies of Napoleon. But today, Venice faces a far more dangerous enemy: nature itself.

On November 4, 1966, a massive rising tide completely swamped the entire city of Venice, causing evacuations and damaging many priceless architectual buildings. This event drew public attention to the fact that Venice was sinking. Emergency measures were implemented, which may have slowed or stopped the sinking (no one is entirely sure). But the problem is now made much worse by the rising sea levels caused by global climate change.

If nothing is done, the entire city of Venice may eventually disappear completely. This is something that the international community cannot allow, and all Global Citizens should consider the preservation of Venice from destruction as a high priority.

One proposed solution to the problem is the MOSE Project. One of the most ambitious engineering projects in the world, it is designed to protect Venice from high tides by creating three sets of enormous flood barriers across the three inlets that lead from the Adriantic Sea into the Venetian lagoon. Under normal circumstances, the pontoons are filled with weater and rest at the bottom of the inlets, but when a dangerous tide is detected, they fill with air and raise themselves into the blocking positions.



The MOSE Project will cost billions of euros and is being funded by the Italian government, which has never exactly been a model of efficiency and consistency. Consequently, funding levels have occasionally been threatened. But with more than half of the construction now completed, and with the problem of climate change becoming ever more acute, the continuation of funding seems reasonably secure.

There are many critics of the MOSE Project, including some environmentalists who worry over its potential impact on sealife in the Venetian lagoon. Others object to the high cost of the project, or worry that it will be ineffective. These concerns deserve to be fully addressed, but cannot be allowed to derail the project.

Venice is a priceless treasture that, in a very real sense, belongs to the entire human race. It is our duty to protect it.