In photos: Can Venice be saved from the sea?

The $7 billion project which could be the answer to the city’s flooding and the threat of rising sea levels…

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VENICE HAS BEEN regularly flooded by high tide, or ‘acqua alta’ for centuries. But the problem may be getting worse, a recent study suggests.

The city continues to sink about 0.08 inches each year, the report in the March issue of Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems claims. This contradicts previous studies, according to Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino. What’s worse, Venice is also apparently tilting eastward.

And while some question the report’s methodology, the Italian government is not taking any chances. It’s new multi-billion dollar machine, built to combat the invasive sea waters, will make its debut next year. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? We take a look…

In photos: Can Venice be saved from the sea?

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1. Sinking...
Venice sank 28cm in the last century. The city stretches across numerous islands in the Venetian lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. At high tide (acqua alta), parts of the city are flooded, and global warming and groundwater pumping is causing Venice to sink. (Image: PA File)
2. The Great Flood
The city has been working on a plan since the Great Flood of 1966. Five thousand people were displaced and $6 billion worth of artwork was damaged. The 14th century Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) was seriously damaged by the flood-swollen waters, and most of the famed goldsmith shops were wiped away during the violent storms that wreaked havoc on the Italian peninsula. (Image: PA File)
3. Project
Italy's biggest public works project was finally approved by then-PM Berlusconi in 2003. (Image: Mario Kuhnke/APA/Press Association Images)
4. Introducing MOSE
The project was named MOSE, an acronym for 'Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico; and an allusion to the Old Testament story of Moses parting the Red Sea. (Image: PA File)
5. New lagoon
The project involves constructing 78 gates across the three inlets that feed the lagoon. Its construction has employed 3,000 people. (Image via Salve.it)
6. Gate technology
The largest gate will be 30 metres long, 20 metres high, and 4.5 metres thick. Each will weight 250-300 tons. The gates will rest at the bottom of the inlet; when a high tide is forecast, compressed air will be released into the hollow gates, making them rise and block the entrance of the tide. (Image via Salve.it)
7. Sea level
The gates will be able to withstand a maximum high tide of 10 feet, and a rise of 60cm in sea level. But if global warming raises sea levels by 25cm, MOSE will be needed at least 35 times a year by 2100. MOSE has already cost the Italian govt €5.3bn, and maintenance costs will be at least €8.8bn a year. The original building cost estimate was €3.4bn. (Image AP/Luigi Constantini/PA)
8. Anti-MOSE
Some scientists, politicians, and activists are against MOSE. Protests and unease over costs have led completion to be delayed by a year to 2013. Critics say the plan will damage the environment, and the system will be be difficult to maintain. The government is accused of never considering the alternatives. The 549 square-km Venetian lagoon is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean. There is fear that digging for MOSE could turn the lagoon into a pond and damage its ecosystem. The lagoon is a breeding ground for thousands of aquatic birds who migrate here in the winter. (Image: AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)
9. Last chance?
Some say the gates are only a short-term solution to a constantly escalating problem. A plan propagated by politicians with an eye only on the next elections. If the gates fail, it may be up to UNESCO and the EU to step in to preserve Venice. (Image: PA File)