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Tourists Return, and Venice Wonders: How Many Are Too Many?

Tourists stroll across St. Mark s square by St. Mark s basilica in Venice earlier this month. AFP In recent months, Piero Dri has luxuriated in the calm of Venice s waterways. Covid-19 restrictions kept tourists away and reduced water traffic to a trickle, allowing him to paddle his traditional mascareta rowboat across the lagoon any time he liked without having to worry about being swamped by the wake of larger craft or even cruise liners. His idyll came to an end about two weeks ago. The waves were so high … I had to go home. It was only 10 a.m., said 37-year-old Mr. Dri, who has a workshop where he crafts intricate fórcola, the raised, crutch-like oar locks that gondoliers use to scull their craft through the Venetian canals. The environment has been violated by the sheer amount of motor boats of all kinds whizzing through the lagoon.

Venice flooded as €6bn barrier not activated

Angry Venetians were left mopping out homes and shops yesterday after authorities failed to activate the €6bn sea barrier designed to save the city from flooding. The barrier, named Moses after the Biblical figure who parted the Red Sea, became operational in October and is capable of shielding the World Heritage Site from high tides. But when a surge in the sea level occurred on Tuesday, it was not deployed. Weather forecasters had predicted a 1.25m (4.1ft) high tide but Moses – 78 giant hinged gates that can close off Venice’s lagoon from the Adriatic Sea – is normally not activated until the tide reaches 1.3m.

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