Let’s support Venice from sinking! Two giant hands coming out of the water have been supporting Venice by the Rialto Bridge since 2017. These two hand sculptures, named “Support” are the creation of the artist Lorenzo Quinn for the 2017 Venice Biennale.
I have been thinking about a question that someone asked me once: How long would it take for Venice to sink, if nothing changes? This is not an easy question to answer and it leads me to write this article.
Venice is “sinking”
From a high level, we have observed Venice’s ground level getting closer and closer to the sea level. If you look at it closely, two things have been happening to make Venice sink:
1. The city is still settling since the date when it was created. Venice was built on top of unsettled soil and sand. The weight of the city has been pushing the mud down ever since. The foundation of the city is also impacted by tidal activities. Venice periodically “sinks” due to tide movements. The tidal impact enlarges when large cruise ships sail into the lagoon. Venetians have been trying to come up with ways to protect the city from the tides.
2. The sea level is rising. Not only the city itself is moving down, the surrounding water is moving up due to climate change. The sea level rising is a result of a global impact on climate. This upward effect of the surrounding water is faster than the downward effect of the city settling.
Let’s count the number of extreme high tides (greater than and equal to 110 cm) in Venice and use this count to represent the flooding/sinking frequency in Venice. Based on the statistics from City of Venice, the flooding/sinking frequency in Venice is from about 5 times per year to about 50 times per year between 1870 and 2010.
In 2000, some scientists estimated that Venice would be uninhabitable in 2100, if nothing changes.
What can a tourist do to support Venice
What can a tourist do to support Venice is what I think everyone should think about. I really like Venice. It it truly a one of a kind city (read my articles about Venice). I hope not only I can see Venice, but future generations can also see this magical place. As a tourist, what can I do?
Share and support local environmental, economical, and social concerns
What does this mean? This goes down to a simple principle: be a decent, considerate, respectful and responsible human being.
We all live on the same planet. Whether you like it or believe it, this is the fact that will not change (until we are on a star trek age, and we could say, we all live in the same galaxy). Be aware of local concerns and try to be less destructive and be more supportive.
Using Venice as an example, to reduce the impact of tourism, as a tourist, we could choose to stay in Venice for multiple days to have a better look of the place and support local economy, instead of hopping on a giant cruise ship that brings in destructive high tides and gives minimum pay back to the locals. We could choose to buy local Venetian creations and art crafts, instead of getting a souvenir that is made in other countries where Venetians do not benefit from the revenue.
I hope everyone enjoys traveling as much as I do. I hope everyone in the future also enjoys the world as much as I do now, and maybe more! Happy Hopping!
Venice
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