THE VENICE PROJECT - A CHALLENGE FOR MODERN ENGINEERING

Situated in the largest lagoon in the Mediterranean, the historic and important Italian seaport of Venice is in danger of extinction. Subsidence and steadily rising sea levels have led to increasingly frequent flooding, while increased commercial and industrial activity have caused erosion and pollution of the surrounding lagoon to reach critical levels. In 1984, the Italian Government initiated a pound 2 billion civil engineering scheme to safeguard Venice, which involves installation of mobile barriers across the lagoon inlets, reinforcement of coastal defences and jetties and reconstruction of the lagoon marshlands. This Paper provides an overview of the range of projects involved in the scheme and of the engineering solutions proposed.