# Is Venice doomed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384 "2011-11-09T13:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/1 "2011-11-09T13:23:18Z")
I love Venice. Who doesn’t? But Aqua Altae levels are rising and new controversial technologies are [being thought up](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4458910.stm) to stop the city sinking. But will it be enough? How long does the city have? Is it destined to sink below the murky waters of the Adriatic to become a modern day Atlantis? Or is the subsistence actually [slowing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice#Subsidence) and technology able to save the city? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/2 "2011-11-09T15:26:25Z")
I suggest you warm up with at least a good read: > **[NOVA | Sinking City of Venice | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/)** > > This companion Web site to the NOVA program Sinking City of Venice shows the threat that Venice is under from rising tides, and describes one proposal to solve the problem - mobile gates placed at the entrances to Venice's lagoon. The sinking has slowed since artesian wells were banned, but it hardly eliminates the issue. Everything is ‘doomed’, so you want to get more specific. Earth is doomed… so no one can chime in to say that Venice is not doomed. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/3 "2011-11-09T15:43:27Z")
OK, Philster, I agree. The entirety of the known Universe is bounded by time. Nothing lasts forever. But, I suppose the term ‘doomed’ in this context means ‘Will Venice disappear into the Adriatic Sea in the next few decades or so?’ Or perhaps, ‘Will the proposed technological fixes postpone the inevitable submersion of Venice?’ If Humanity lasts long enough, it is entirely possible that we could reverse the flooding and leave Venice in a stable state. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/4 "2011-11-10T02:44:02Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > I love Venice. Who doesn’t? Many people! It’s filthy; covered in algae and dog feces the local pet owners can’t be bothered to pick up. Speaking of locals, they are spiteful, rude and unappreciative of the visitors who actually sustain their existance. I can’t stand Venice. No one who has ever spent any amount of time in that city actually likes it. “Huge dissapointment” is a common description. I won’t miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/5 "2011-11-10T03:14:58Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Many people! It’s filthy; covered in algae and dog faeces the local pet owners can’t be bothered to pick up. Speaking of locals, they are spiteful, rude and unappreciative of the visitors who actually sustain their existence. I can’t stand Venice.\*\* No one who has ever spent any amount of time in that city actually likes it.\*\* “Huge disappointment” is a common description. The **bolded** part is factually incorrect, as I love it. I think it is the tourist city that copes with its overwhelming influx of visitors the best of anywhere. BTW I do not recall a single deposit of dog poo in the entire time I lived there. Seagull maybe. > [@](#): > > I won’t miss it. It, and those who love it, won’t miss you even a little bit. Do allow the door to smack you on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/6 "2011-11-10T13:54:13Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > The **bolded** part is factually incorrect, as I love it. I think it is the tourist city that copes with its overwhelming influx of visitors the best of anywhere. > > BTW I do not recall a single deposit of dog poo in the entire time I lived there. Seagull maybe. > > It, and those who love it, won’t miss you even a little bit. Do allow the door to smack you on the way out. Hahha, he is probably a native Venetian and is trying to convince you Americans to stay away . . . ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/7 "2011-11-10T19:06:11Z")
I didn’t care for it a whole lot, either. The canals are open sewers. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/8 "2011-11-10T19:17:35Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > I didn’t care for it a whole lot, either. The canals are open sewers. MLS Charter Member Join Date: Mar 2003 **Location: New Jersey** Posts: 6,169 The irony! It burns! ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/9 "2011-11-10T19:24:40Z")
Because? Because NJ beaches are cleaner than California ones? NJ has been good enough for the likes of Jackie Onassis and Malcolm Forbes. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/10 "2011-11-10T19:25:40Z")
BTW, we drink the water that comes out of the well on our own property – try to do that in Venice! ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/11 "2011-11-10T19:27:13Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Hahha, he is probably a native Venetian and is trying to convince you Americans to stay away . . . The native Venetians are getting fewer and fewer. The population is down by half from what it was in 1966 when there was a bad flood. It is an expensive inconvenient place to live. Most of the people that work in Venice commute in from the mainland. I love Venice and had a wonderful poop free time there. But it is a strange place that is turning into a theme park rather than a place where people live. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/12 "2011-11-10T20:29:30Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > MLS > Charter Member > > Join Date: Mar 2003 > **Location: New Jersey** > Posts: 6,169 > > The irony! It burns! lol ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/13 "2011-11-10T22:14:19Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > The **bolded** part is factually incorrect, as I love it. > … in the entire time I lived there. Well if you lived there, then it doesn’t really apply to you does it? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/14 "2011-11-10T22:15:22Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > It, and those who love it, won’t miss you even a little bit. Trust me, I don’t need an Australian to tell me how much Italians hate my presence in their country. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/15 "2011-11-11T02:43:21Z")
Yeah, I know in the long run we’re all doomed, sun rise sun set and all the rest of it. But more specifically, I’m interested in how long the place will remain inhabitable (some house floors already being unsuitable). Decades? Centuries? Did I hear someone doesn’t appreciate magnificent architecture and culture?! Them’s fightin’ words! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/16 "2011-11-11T03:19:06Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Did I hear someone doesn’t appreciate magnificent architecture and culture?! Them’s fightin’ words! No, I appreciate both. I’ve been to hundreds of cities in 33 different countries. Of those 33, I’ve lived in 6. Venice is by far the most over rated city (next to Pisa) on the planet. Even if it wasn’t over rated, it would still be in the bottom 10%. Other than Naples, I can’t think of a place in Europe I like less. Didn’t want to continue the hijack, I just wanted to explain that I am not simply being xenophobic or anti-Europe or something. I just don’t like Venice much. And I used to live 30 mins from there. ---
**Author:** ![Anchuldigs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anchuldigs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anchuldigs)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/17 "2011-11-11T03:20:08Z")
My cousin hates Venice too. But he slipped into a canal … in his suit. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/18 "2011-11-11T06:39:22Z")
They should accept that they have to build up another level of buildings, hardly for the first time. Some of the architecture can be moved up a level, but trying to keep the whole present “ground level” above water is probably going to do more harm than good. It’s sinking like it always has, and closing off the lagoon will be worse than losing some floors beneath the waves. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/19 "2011-11-11T15:52:08Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > No, I appreciate both. I’ve been to hundreds of cities in 33 different countries. Of those 33, I’ve lived in 6. Venice is by far the most over rated city (next to Pisa) on the planet. Even if it wasn’t over rated, it would still be in the bottom 10%. Other than Naples, I can’t think of a place in Europe I like less. > > Didn’t want to continue the hijack, I just wanted to explain that I am not simply being xenophobic or anti-Europe or something. I just don’t like Venice much. And I used to live 30 mins from there. [hijack]Ugh! Naples was one of the grosser cities I’ve seen. I’m sure it has nice areas, but we sure didn’t see them.[/end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384/20 "2011-11-11T16:35:25Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > [hijack]Ugh! Naples was one of the grosser cities I’ve seen. I’m sure it has nice areas, but we sure didn’t see them.[/end hijack] Don’t worry; it doesn’t. As for Venice, the Moses barrier is due to be completed [next year](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSE_Project), although quite where the money to finish it will come from, given Italy’s current finances, I don’t know. That combined with building up quaysides should help matters somewhat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-venice-doomed/602384.md?page=2)