First published at 11:13 UTC on November 28th, 2019.
A 2019 ZED Report by Barbara Necek.
Well over a thousand years ago the first wooden huts were built out on the middle of a lagoon off the coast of northern Italy. The archives tell us these were the homes of people fleeing barbarian invasions in th…
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A 2019 ZED Report by Barbara Necek.
Well over a thousand years ago the first wooden huts were built out on the middle of a lagoon off the coast of northern Italy. The archives tell us these were the homes of people fleeing barbarian invasions in the aftermath of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Later, with land in short supply, man-made areas were developed. But construction was far from easy; the bed of the lagoon consisted of sediment and mud, forming a foundation that was constantly moving. Yet Venetian architects managed to build the city’s palaces, towers, and cathedrals. Venice stands on a forest of wooden piles which anchor the buildings to the lagoon’s muddy bed. The buildings themselves are constructed in such a way that they can compensate for movement, even earth tremors, without suffering noticeable damage.
But the water the Venetians built their city on is becoming more and more of a threat. Industrialization has played its part in disturbing the natural balance of the lagoon: The sea bed has subsided and the effect of the tides has changed, resulting in a water level in the city’s canals that is 24 centimeters higher than when they were first built. Added to that is the controversial presence in the lagoon of giant cruise ships: A source of income for the city, but also one that contributes to atmospheric pollution, as well as causing wake damage.
𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑: 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.
𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟔, 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 “𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞” 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠.
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