Venice has fascinated the world for over 1,600 years.
And for just as long, people have been scared of floods or worried
that the city could sink into the sea.
This is the latest attempt to protect Venice - 78 metal barriers
that can be raised to separate the sea from the lagoon.
The system is called MOSE.
If we hadn't had MOSE,
Venice would have been irreparably
destroyed on November 22nd, 2022.
It was the second highest
flood in history.
But nothing happened.
We were able to
protect the lagoon and Venice.
Elisabetta Spitz has already given the order to raise the barriers
over 50 times.
And she's having to do it increasingly frequently.
We now know that MOSE is a
flexible instrument that does not always
have to be opened,
nor at the same time.
Today, we know much more about
floods and winds, so we're in
a position to act against flooding,
to use the MOSE system only
partially and to guarantee
the exchange of water between the
sea and the lagoon.
Does that mean Venice can be saved?
Climate experts predict that the sea level could rise by
60 centimeters by the end of the century.
The oceanographer Georg Umgiesser says that MOSE is just buying time.
Is MOSE enough to save Venice?
Yes, at the moment, definitely
in the next 10, 20 or 30 years.
But if the sea level rises by
50 centimeters it will have to be used
300 to 400 times, that's once a day.
It won't manage.
MOSE won't be able to cope
as a structure, but nor will the
lagoon manage because it
needs the exchange of water.
Marco Sigovini from the
Venice Institute of Marine Sciences is
researching the lagoon's ecosystem.
He says the frequency with which MOSE is being used has not yet had
any major consequences.
But this could change if the lagoon is separated from the sea more
frequently and for longer periods of time.
It could be that at some point
we'll have to decide whether it
makes sense to maintain the lagoon
as a saltwater lagoon or not.
The long closures interrupt
the cycle between the sea and
the lagoon – which is
fundamental for Venice.
It's what creates the lagoon floor
which determines what plants and
animals can live there.
We're going to
face tough decisions.
Whether to save the lagoon…
or the city…
Venetians would
ideally keep both.
Piazza San Marco is the lowest point of Venice and
the first to flood.
Work is currently underway to raise the square.
If it were raised to 110 cm
then the square would no longer
be under water.
Because it would manage
up to 110 cm without flooding
and at over 110 cm,
the MOSE system would close.
So in other words,
there would be no more flooding on
Piazza San Marco.
He believes we need to have faith.
That people often forget
that Venice has sunk 30 cm in
the past 150 years.
Too much groundwater has been pumped from the city's aquifers.
But groundwater could also help save the city from disaster.
If the water that's been pumped out
is pumped back in then Venice could
rise by 30 cm again.
That would be the exact 30 cm
that we've lost in the past 150 years,
so we would be going back,
starting at zero again so to speak.
He says that Venice as we know it cannot last forever in any case.
At some point the lagoon will have to be separated from the sea.
And that Venetians will be forced to decide.
Both cannot be rescued.
We have to decide what to save.
Venice.
There is only one Venice.
A difficult decision.
One Venetians hope they will never have to make.
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