VENICE CAPITAL OF SUSTAINABILITY
United \Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDAR) has paid an official tribute to the efforts made by Venice to preserve the ecosystem of its lagoon and reduce the “Acqua Alta” phenomenon of recurrent flooding of the city centre.
Venice's construction of the revolutionary Mose Barrier across the lagoon has been hailed a success in reducing this problem. The Mose (in Italian this is pronounced the same as the name of the Old Testament prophet who parted the waters of the Red Sea to let his people escape from the pursuing Egyptians, but more prosaically it is actually an acronym for Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico.
Venice has also announced plans to protect the ecosystem of the two sandbank islands in the lagoon, known as the Lazzaretti, as for centuries they were Quarantine centres for plague sufferers with the first hospital founded in 1423. These islands are to be promoted as an important part of the Venetian historic hospital museum system, as announced during the recent Festival of the History of Health, held between the 8th -17th November 2023.
M. STENHOUSE
Info: Tel. +0039.041.5294323 www.scuolagrandesanmarco.it scuolagrandesanmarco@aulss3.veneto.it