The problem: high waters
Since the beginning of the 1900s, high waters have become ever more frequent as the level of the land has dropped with respect to the sea. The floods cause inconvenience to inhabitants and damage to architecture and buildings. There is also an ever present risk of a catastrophic event such as the 4 November 1966 flood when Venice, Chioggia and other built up areas in the lagoon were completely submerged under more than a metre of water.
MOSE, the mobile barriers system
The Mose System to safeguard Venice from high waters consists of mobile barriers able to temporarily separate the lagoon from the sea and protect Venice from both exceptional destructive events and more frequent events. It is being constructed at the lagoon inlets of Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia, the three openings in the barrier island through which tides propagate in the lagoon.
