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CNN Live Sunday
Water Threatens Venice, Italy
Aired December 29, 2002 - 17:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: When most Americans think of Venice, Italy, they think of its gondolas and canals. The waterways attract a tide of tourists every year and now, it's the water, or rather too much of it, that's threatening the historic city. CNN's Alessio Vinci explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): High waters in Venice have become a tourist attraction. For some, as enjoyable as the city's old palazzos (ph) and art galleries. Tourists seem to love it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just quite fascinating. We saw these platform bells, and low and behold this morning when we came out, the water (UNINTELLIGIBLE) completely flooded. Amazing phenomenon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's funny. I like it.
VINCI: But for Venice residents facing some of the worst flooding this century, it is not that much fun. Take Adriano Girardi, manager of the Caffe Quadri in St. Mark's Square, one of the lowest lying and most frequently flooded areas of Venice. This year alone, his store was flooded more than 100 times. He is well prepared to secure precious furniture against the rising waters, but floods cause a substantial economic loss.
ADRIANO GIRARDI, MANAGER, CAFFE QUADRI: I'm losing one month revenue each year due to the high water. And this year, if it carries on the way it's ending up, maybe more than one month.
VINCI (on camera): For some tourists, this may be a very romantic experience. But the one thing pictures do not reveal is the unpleasant smell, which comes every time there is a high tide. This is lagoon water mixed with the city's sewer system.
VINCI (voice over): What is worse, floods and water erosion have taken its toll on the city's historic buildings, damaging their foundations. Experts estimate in the last 100 years, the difference between lands and sea levels decreased by nine inches, or 27 centimeters. Facing this emergency, the Italian government has approved a long-debated project of movable flood gates aimed at temporarily closing off Venice's lagoon during unusually high tides.
When not in use, the gates would remain flat on the seabed, invisible and without hindering Venice's productivity. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because this is a temporary closures, it will not affect the exchange of the water and the splashing of the sea -- of the lagoon from the sea during the summer, for instance.
VINCI: But environmental experts are concerned the huge construction projects, estimated at $4 billion, will have a devastating impact.
The movable barriers are not flexible, he says, because of the sea level rises to unusually high tides, like during this period, the lagoon will have to be closed off practically once a day, which this would not guarantee the ex-change of the waters.
The one issue everybody degrees on is that both Venice and its lagoon have to be saved soon. After 20 years of bickering, this is now the first opportunity to save a treasure more than 1,500 years old.
Alessio Vinci, CNN, Venice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 29, 2002 - 17:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: When most Americans think of Venice, Italy, they think of its gondolas and canals. The waterways attract a tide of tourists every year and now, it's the water, or rather too much of it, that's threatening the historic city. CNN's Alessio Vinci explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): High waters in Venice have become a tourist attraction. For some, as enjoyable as the city's old palazzos (ph) and art galleries. Tourists seem to love it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just quite fascinating. We saw these platform bells, and low and behold this morning when we came out, the water (UNINTELLIGIBLE) completely flooded. Amazing phenomenon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's funny. I like it.
VINCI: But for Venice residents facing some of the worst flooding this century, it is not that much fun. Take Adriano Girardi, manager of the Caffe Quadri in St. Mark's Square, one of the lowest lying and most frequently flooded areas of Venice. This year alone, his store was flooded more than 100 times. He is well prepared to secure precious furniture against the rising waters, but floods cause a substantial economic loss.
ADRIANO GIRARDI, MANAGER, CAFFE QUADRI: I'm losing one month revenue each year due to the high water. And this year, if it carries on the way it's ending up, maybe more than one month.
VINCI (on camera): For some tourists, this may be a very romantic experience. But the one thing pictures do not reveal is the unpleasant smell, which comes every time there is a high tide. This is lagoon water mixed with the city's sewer system.
VINCI (voice over): What is worse, floods and water erosion have taken its toll on the city's historic buildings, damaging their foundations. Experts estimate in the last 100 years, the difference between lands and sea levels decreased by nine inches, or 27 centimeters. Facing this emergency, the Italian government has approved a long-debated project of movable flood gates aimed at temporarily closing off Venice's lagoon during unusually high tides.
When not in use, the gates would remain flat on the seabed, invisible and without hindering Venice's productivity. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because this is a temporary closures, it will not affect the exchange of the water and the splashing of the sea -- of the lagoon from the sea during the summer, for instance.
VINCI: But environmental experts are concerned the huge construction projects, estimated at $4 billion, will have a devastating impact.
The movable barriers are not flexible, he says, because of the sea level rises to unusually high tides, like during this period, the lagoon will have to be closed off practically once a day, which this would not guarantee the ex-change of the waters.
The one issue everybody degrees on is that both Venice and its lagoon have to be saved soon. After 20 years of bickering, this is now the first opportunity to save a treasure more than 1,500 years old.
Alessio Vinci, CNN, Venice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
