Venezia is Sinking
January 22, 2007
On a trip to Venice (Venezia), Italy in September of last year, I took this picture of the bell tower in the city center. I then overlaid some vertical reference lines to highlight the current posture of the structure. The entire city is literally sinking into the sea (Adriatic Sea), and the taller buildings like this one will soon present an immediate concern for the habitants and visitors alike. However, there's a massive project underway to control the tide coming into the lagoon that actually makes up Venice. The Venice Tide Barrier Project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico Project) involves the construction of underwater levees and gates to limit the effects of the tidal movement.