Tourism Part 1

Venice is a Heritage City The city’s heritage includes: 16 000 works of art,

400 palaces, 100 churches and 30 convents

Worldwide attraction

It is a small pedestrian (someone who travels on foot) city.

Characteristics of the Lagoon of Venice

Venice is in northern Italy, in a region called Venetia.

The city is in the middle of the lagoon.

It is made up of a group of 118 islands connected by a network of 200 canals.

It is an urban archipelago (a city formed by a group of islands).

The lagoon is separated from the Adriatic Sea by a long sandbank called the Lido.

*A lagoon is a shallow body of saltwater separated by the open sea by a low sandbank or coral reef.

Three inlets (a place of entry) connect the lagoon to the sea: the Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia.

These openings maintain a balance between fresh water, flowing in from the rivers and salt water, carried by the tides.

The Grand Canal, or ‘’Main street ’’

How do people get around?

By foot

vaporetto (boat used for public transit)

motoscafo (motor boat)

gondola (long, single-oared flat-boat used by tourists)

The Grand Canal is nearly 4 km long and connects to smaller canals.

It divides the city in two sections.

It was built so that boats could unload their cargo throughout the city.

Mass Tourism Each day, more than

60,000 people visit Venice

The population in Venice was 60 000 in 2004.

It used to be 174 808 in 1951.

It is becoming a city focused solely on mass tourism.

Venice is not a hotel!

Why are Venetians moving out of Venice?

a) Rent, food, restaurants and transportation are expensive.

The bustling Rialto market, one of the oldest

food markets in the world, believed to have been trading since 1097

b) Venetians must cope (struggle) with the massive presence of tourists all year-round.

c) Increasing pollution

d) More frequent flooding

Venetians are leaving their city as a result.

Tourism in the Lagoon of Venice: Asset (good thing) or Problem?

Venetians depend on tourism to make money.

Maintaining and restoring the city generates revenue (brings in money $) and creates jobs for the locals (people that live there).

Problems caused by mass tourism

A) It contributes to:

Pollution of the lagoon and city

Island locals are moving from the islands to the mainland (exodus from the islands)

Too much drinking water is being consumed

b) Housing shortage for residents:

Many residences (house) are being converted (transformed) into hotels or bed and breakfasts

c) Only prestigious (famous) buildings are getting renovated:

The rest of the city is left in the hands of developers.

As a consequence, the canals and foundations in less popular areas are in need of repair.

The three enemies threatening Venice’s lagoon

1. Industrial pollution: Fumes from refineries* (contain sulfur and release acid into the

air. Rain sends gases back to Earth. Corrodes stonework, harms plant life and pollutes the lagoon.

*Facility where a crude or semi-finished substance (such as metal, oil, or sugar) is converted (refined) into a finished or higher grade product, usually through distillation or electrolysis.

2. Floods:Venice is built on water.

Documents reveal that floods have been occuring because of high tides, low atmospheric pressure, heavy rain and the city’s gradual sinking.

3. Land Subsidence: Groundwater was pumped out

of the surface to supply the growing population with water.

(Groundwater is water that is found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock)

This emptied the underground reservoirs and caused Venice to sink (subside) by 23 cm.

The Cost of Development Since the 1950’s, the economic and tourist

development of Venice have dratically increased pollution levels in the lagoon.

Chemical and petrochemical industries have dumped pollutants in the water.

These industrial plants have pumped huge amounts of groundwater from underground reservoirs.

Huge amounts of water was also pumped out to supply the increasing population of mainland residents.

This slowly caused the ground to sink.

The threat of Aqua AltaThe threat of Aqua Alta High tides represent an

important threat to Venice.

Flooding is occurring more frequently.

These floods are becoming more severe; causing more damage as a result.

Strong winds over the Adriatic Sea traps and prevents lagoon water from leaving the lagoon.

MOSES PROJECT Scientists have devised various solutions to save the

city from waters.

The idea is to install floodgates (pontoons*) which would block incoming water whenever the tide rises above one metre.

Construction of Breakwaters Scientists have also constructed breakwaters* in front of the

inlets to deflect one third of the tide from entering the lagoon

*It’s a barrier with thousands of boulders; supported by aqua-pods.

Piles Venetian houses were built on piles (wooden posts).

These piles are wooden posts that are driven into the soft ground to support whatever structure is above it.

Causeway in Venice A causeway was recently built to connect the mainland to

the ancient city.

A causeway is a raised road that stretched across wetland.

How do Critics feel About Project Moses? Critics of Project Moses believe that the

flooding problem in Venice has been exaggerated.

Critics also believe that the floodgates will keep the sea out of Venice and will trap the sewage in an already filthy lagoon!

Solution…

Solution: The floodgates will only be used 4-5 times a

year.

Breakwaters will be built near the inlets to keep 2/3 of the high tides from entering the lagoon.

Breakwaters Divers plan to place many fabrics along the seafloor.

These fabrics will be nailed to the seafloor with long, thick iron nails.

The fabrics will be covered with small-sized rocks.

Larger-sized rocks and eventually boulders will be placed over the smaller ones to ensure stability.

Interlocking Aqua-pods a MUST!

Finally, interlocking aqua-pods will be placed along the walls of the breakwater.

Must withstand the constant pounding of the tides and strength of the currents.

Without these aqua-pods, the breakwaters would eventually collapse because of the strong waters.