Venice is on the rise
In his poem "Ode on Venice," Lord Byron prophesied a time "when thy marble walls/ Are level with the waters." By 1969, after nearly two decades of economic boom, the 19th century English poet's prediction seemed to be coming all too true. To slake the thirst of new industries on the mainland, some 20,000 wells were dug, tapping the water table that helps cushion Venice's more than 100 canal-cut islands. As a result, the fabled city of palaces and churches, frescoes and piazzas, began to sink at a frightening...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
