Airdate: Saving Venice

If you’ve ever been to Venice -or wanted to- Saving Venice could be a doco for you, this weekend on SBS.

Venice is one of the most iconic cities on the planet – its location driving its economic prosperity whilst leaving it vulnerable to floods. The first settlers drove wood piles into the lagoon’s soft mud, making it strong enough to bear weight, a technique which supports the entire city. Samples from 1000-year-old piles show how the mud slows down the water’s rotting of the wood, but increasingly frequent floods pose a new threat. Restorers are rushing to remove the salt from the city’s monuments which, left behind after evaporation, crystallises and weakens the structure of their walls. After decades of construction, the MOSE, a multi-billion euros system of flood barriers, is ready to protect the city. Gates have been built across the three narrow inlets that link the lagoon with the open sea.

Venice’s relationship with the lagoon holds the key to the city’s future and explains its current challenges. In the 15th century, as the lagoon was silting up, massive engineering projects kept the lagoon from turning into dry land, but this in turn caused floods to become more frequent. Meanwhile, the new routes towards the Americas reduced Venice’s trading powers. To survive, the city reinvented itself as an essential travel destination. Today, Venice attracts millions of tourists a year. Huge cruise ships and cargo ships crowds a channel west of the city and wakes from these large vessels are eroding the salt marshes at an alarming rate, increasing flood risks, whilst smaller motorboats damage canal walls. Events like the Regatta Storica celebrate a city free of motorised boats. Faced with losing their city to climate change, Venetians are turning to revolutionary engineering, restoration of the natural environment and knowledge from their past. Only by using multiple approaches can they hope to save Venice.

Sunday, 20 November at 7.30pm on SBS.