Venice has taken an enormous step in protecting its crumbling, sinking foundations. The Mose Project started in 2003 with the idea of creating moveable steel gates along the entrance to Venice’s lagoon, thereby preventing the city being flooded by the Adriatic tide.
Croatian shipyard Brodosplit, 400km down the coast in Split, won that commission and has now delivered 63 gates. The 300-tonne barriers will be divided among the four inlets to the lagoon; a computer system fills the hollow gates with water to sink them when needed or buoys them with air to protect against the high tide. They’re built to last 100 years, buying Venice a century to come up with more ways to permanently safeguard its future.
Source: Monocle