VENICE CANALS
1.Context
With some of Venice’s secondary canals almost drying up in the past few days, images of docked water taxis, gondolas and ambulance boats have garnered a lot of attention on social media. Experts believe that a prolonged long spell of low tides and lack of rain are responsible for the issue in the city
2. Famous canals of Venice
- Located in northern Italy, the city of Venice has a unique geography. It is a collection of over 118 small islands spread over a lagoon, a kind of water body separated from a larger water body through some kind of land formation. Covering 70,176.4 ha., the Venetian lagoon is separated from the Adriatic Sea
- The UNESCO World Heritage property comprises the city of Venice and its lagoon situated in the Veneto Region of Northeast Italy
- Founded in the 5th century AD and spread over 118 small islands, Venice became a major maritime power in the 10th century
- The whole city is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece in which even the smallest building contains works by some of the world's greatest artists such as Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and others.
- n this lagoon covering 70,176.4 ha, nature and history have been closely linked since the 5th century when Venetian populations, to escape barbarian raids, found refuge on the sandy islands of Torcello, Jesolo and Malamocco
- These temporary settlements gradually became permanent and the initial refuge of the land-dwelling peasants and fishermen became a maritime power
- Over the centuries, during the entire period of the expansion of Venice, when it was obliged to defend its trading markets against the commercial undertakings of the Arabs, the Genoese and the Ottoman Turks, Venice never ceased to consolidate its position in the lagoon
- In this inland sea that has continuously been under threat, rises amid a tiny archipelago at the very edge of the waves one of the most extraordinary built-up areas of the Middle Ages
3. Reasons for drying up canals
At present, the near waterless canals have disrupted everyday life in the city because they’re responsible for carrying a bulk of transportation automobiles are banned throughout much of Venice.
Source: NASA
- According to weather analysts, a high-pressure system is stuck over the city, creating low tides, which has led to low water levels. However, many say the root cause behind the issue is the drought-like situation across Italy
- Italian Alps have received nearly half of the normal snowfall during this winter
- This is worrying as snow is an important source of water in spring and summer when, by melting, it ensures water supplies in the months it is most needed
- Italy’s longest river, the Po, which travels from the Alps to the Adriatic, has 61 per cent less water than normal at this time of year
- To make matters worse, Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, is also suffering from low water levels
- In 2022, Italy experienced its worst drought in 70 years, with authorities declaring a state of emergency in five northern areas: Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto
4.Rivers of Italy
- The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC. The city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice
- Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals"
- Venice is a city and seaport in north-east Italy, Venice is situated on 120 islands formed by 177 canals in the lagoon between the mouths of the Po and Piave rivers, at the northern extremity of the Adriatic Sea
- The Venetian Lagoon stretches from the River Sile in the north to the Brenta in the south, with a surface area of around 550 square kilometres (212 square miles)
- Venice Three Islands Tour: Murano, Burano and Torcello
Source:unesco, indianexpress
