AT L A S O F V E N I C E PART 1 MPHIL IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN FIELDWORK 2018 CAROLYN SMITH
Carolyn Smith Venice, Italy Cambridge Design Research Studio 2019 Unless otherwise stated, all images and graphics are the author’s own.
MARITTIMA ISLAND
PR
OJ
EC
TD
EV
EL
OP
ME
NT
SIT
E
TRONCHETTO ISLAND
CENTRO STO RI CO REFERENCE M AP 0
0.5 km
SANTA LUCIA TRAIN STATION MAIN ACCESS POINT TO THE CENTRO STORICO
RIALTO BRIDG TOURISM HOT SPO
GE OT
GIARDINI PRIMARY BIENNALE LOCATION
ARSENALE SECONDARY BIENNALE LOCATION
PIAZZA SAN MARCO MAIN TOURISM HOT SPOT
CURRENT CRUISE SHIP ROUTE MARITTIMA - ADRIATIC SAN SERVOLO HOME TO VIU
C H A P T E R L A T H E
0 1
B E L L A S H A P E
F I G U R A O F
V E N I C E
Venice is constructed from layers of socio-political context as much as it is from stone and brick; its foundations find their footings in myth as much as they do the mud of the lagoon. While the project thesis disentangled Venice’s contemporary myths, this chapter builds an image of the contemporary city and the social, political and economic context which has informed the project’s direction and approach.
T
R
E
V
IS
O
M E
S
T R
T
R
O
ST
OR
IC
O
E
N
P D
O
0
FI G URE 1
C
E
A V
A
20 km
2015 PRO PO RT I O N A L P O P U L AT I O N O F V E N I C E C I T Y- R E G I O N - - SOURCE
Comune di Venezia, B02_T05_Quartieri 09
In the Veneto region, 55% of the population are concentrated into what has been termed the Venice cityregion. This city-region is one of the leading economies in Italy and is composed from the cities of Venice, Padova, and Treviso. As the name suggests, Venice is traditionally the focal point of the region. Despite Venice’s iconic status, the residents of the centro storico are vastly outnumbered by both the population of Mestre, and the surrounding city region. The large-scale relocation of Venice’s population to the terraferma, illustrated by the proportional population sizes of each urban pole in the diagram above, has shifted the city-region’s political centre of gravity. Venice remains the figurehead but is politically impotent. The current Mayor of Venice (Luigi Brugnaro) does not reside within the Municipality.
The Municipality of Venice is often referred to simply as Venice, yet it is far larger than the historic city. The terms centro storico, terraferma, and estuario will be used throughout this pilot thesis to distinguish between the distinct components. TERRAFERMA The mainland component of the Venetian municipality, composed of communities around the edge of the lagoon. This includes the largest city of Mestre which is often referred to as Venice’s ‘twin city’. CENTRO STORICO The historic centre of Venice, often referred to merely as Venice, but for the sake of clarity will be referred to as the centro storico in this pilot thesis. ESTUARIO The other island settlements within the lagoon, the largest of which (in terms of population) is the Lido. FIGURE 2 - THE M UNI CI PALI TY O F VEN I C E 0
5
10 km
TESSERA FAVARO-VENETO TORCELLO MESTRE
MARGHERA
BURANO
MURANO SANT’ERASMO
FUSINA
CENTRO STORICO
LIDO
SANTA MARIA DEL MARE
In the days of the Venetian Republic, industry was imbedded within the fabric of the city. This changed in the nineteenth century, when theories of urban zoning started to push industrial activity from the city centre to the periphery, and continued into the twentieth century, with the decision to build the petrochemical plants at Porto Marghera. This separation effectively abandoned the centro storico to tourism and its use as a cultural playground for the world, and underpins many of the problems evident today. The nature of industry has now changed, however, and it no longer needs to be separated from the densely inhabited city due to fire and pollution: instead of heavy machinery, industry now requires a laptop and a WiFi connection.
INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL FIGURE 3 - LAND USE I N VENI CE SOURCE 0
Atlante della Laguna 2 km
1951 RESIDENT POPULATION
174 808
The diplomatic inertia surrounding Venice has led to an ad hoc and largely reactive approach to physical and economic development. This has resulted in a tourism monoculture and the large-scale exodus of the Venetian population. The last 70 years have seen the loss of two thirds of the inhabitants of the Venetian centro storico; on average 2.6 residents leave every day. The 2015 census data numbers the residential population at only 55,589, a figure which dropped below 53,000
1631 RESIDENT POPULATION
98 000
in February 2019. This is significantly below even the reduced population following the devastating plague of 1630 (98,000). Analysis of the population density illustrates not only the significant
2015 RESIDENT POPULATION
55 589
decrease from the average population density of 1951, but also that the areas which have managed to maintain their population density are set back from the main tourist sites, thoroughfares, and the Grand
32 %
100 %
Canal. FI G UR E 4 - H I S TO R I C R E S I D E N T I A L P O P U L AT I O N SOU R C ES -
Comune di Venezia, A01_T01_Serie Storico Popolazione 13 Comune di Venezia, B01_T01_Movimento E Calcolo Della Popolazione Residente - Anno 2015 Settis, 2014 RESIDENTS / km 2 0 - 800 800 - 4 400 2011 AVERAGE DENSITY
4 400 - 9 400 9 400 - 15 000
1951 AVERAGE DENSITY
15 000 - 22 000 22 000 - 85 000
FIGURE 5 - 2011 RESI DENTI AL PO PULAT I O N D E N S I T Y SOURCE
ISTAT, Censimento Della Popolazione E Delle Abitazioni
400% 300% 200% 100% 50%
1951
1981
2009
FI G URE 6 - CO M PARI SO N OF R E S I D E N T A N D TO U R I S T N U M B E R S
-SOURCES
Comune di Venezia, A01_T01_Serie Storico Popolazione 13 Comune di Venezia, H01_T01_Movimento Turistico nel Comune di Venezia
The link between the accelerated rate of depopulation in the centro storico and the rise of mass-tourism is undeniable. The weight of masstourism was felt most acutely in the 1970s and -80s due to the strain on Venice’s infrastructure.38 Since then, significant development has almost doubled the Tourism
22 000 SUSTAINABLE TCC 1988
Carrying Capacity of the centro storico. ‘Tourism Carrying Capacity’ is defined by the World Tourism Organisation as “The maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural
50 000 SUSTAINABLE TCC 2018
environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction.” Venice was calculated to have a TCC of 22,000 visitors in 1988; revised figures from 2018 now give a TCC of 50,000. Venice currently hosts an average of 60,000 visitors a day.
60 000 AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAILY VISITORS TO VENICE
F I G U R E 7 - TO U R I S M C A R RY I N G C APAC ITY SOU R C ES
C os ta & Van der B o rg , 1 9 8 8 Van der Bor g, 2018 , I n t e rv i e w
1000
SANTA LUCIA TRAIN STATION PIAZZALE ROMA ACCESS POINT FOR TRAM, BUS & TAXI
VENEZIA TERMINAL PASSEGGERI (VTP) HEADQUARTERS
TRAIN STATION RELATIVE PROPORTION OF ARRIVALS VIA TRAIN STATION ENCLOSED CAR PARKS RELATIVE PROPORTION OF ARRIVALS VIA VEHICLES CRUISE TERMINALS RELATIVE PROPORTION OF ARRIVALS VIA CRUISE SHIPS PEDESTRIAN THOROUGHFARES 0
FIGURE 8
0.5 km
ACCESS PO I NTS TO TH E C E N T R O S TO R I C O SOURCE
COSES, 2008
Of all visitors and commuters accessing the centro storico, 62 percent are concentrated at the western edge of the city. These comprise those entering via train, vehicle and cruise ship. The remaining 38 percent, are spread more evenly around the periphery, arriving via boat in the form of the vaporetto links to the estuario islands, the ferry to Lido and Fusina, and the Alilaguna service to the airport. Despite garnering the most public attention and controversy, cruise ship passengers only account for 6.5 percent of visitors to Venice, according to the COSES study of 2008. In recent years this relative percentage has fallen to betwen two and three percent. The vast majority access the city by train; Santa Lucia station accounts for 44 percent of entrances alone. This concentrated access point causes congestion at peak times and during peak season.
The residents of the centro storico are frequently outnumbered by the visiting tourists. Low quality ‘hit-andrun tourism’ drains the city’s resources for minimal returns: more than half will only visit Venice for the day and only 15% will spend the night in the centro storico. FIGURE 9
-THE ASSEM BLED PO PULAT I O N O F V E N I C E SOURCES
COSES, Rappor to 141.0 Foscar i, Elem ents Of V eni ce
263 445 VISITORS DURING +120 000 PEAK FESTIVITIES ----------
COMMUTERS (STUDY)
6 360
COMMUTERS (WORK)
14 295
63 735 SECOND HOMES
4 730
STUDENTS
3 415
RESIDENTS
55 590
166 955
96 490
20 655
14 760
COMMUTERS
TOURISTS
63 735
32 195
RESIDENT POPULATION
DAY TRIPPERS
TOURISTS
143 445
The influx of tourists causes the depleted average population density
33 242
to swell during peak festivals; usually
/ km
2
POPULATION DENSITY OF VENICE DURING PEAK FESTIVALS
with at least half of the assembled population gathered into the main thoroughfares and around the key
18 242
sites in the city. It is this surge of
/ km2
+ TOURISTS
people which clogs the streets of the centro storico.
12 373
/ km2
FI G URE 10 - PO PULATI O N D E N S I T Y SOURCE
9 487
Foscari, Elements Of Venice
LESS TIME TO RECEIVE INFORMATION REGARDING CULTURAL AND COMPLEMENTARY PRODUCTS WHICH LIMITS AWARENESS OF DIFFERENT ATTRACTIONS
c. 250
+ COMMUTERS
/ km2
RESIDENTS
B CONGESTION INCREASES
TOURISTS ARE LESS INFORMED ABOUT QUALITY AND SUPPLIERS ARE ABLE TO LOWER STANDARDS FOR A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
ONLY CENTRAL ATTRACTIONS ARE VISITED AS LESS INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED HIGHER CONGESTION AROUND ACCESS AND MAIN SITES DOWNGRADING OF SERVICE QUALITY IN CULTURAL AND SERVICE SECTORS THE BUSINESS CROWDS ITSELF OUT WITH HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS REPLACED WITH STANDARDISED, CHEAP PRODUCTS (‘MACDONALDISATION’)
A SHORTER VISITS
C POOR RETURNS
INCREASED SHARE OF DAY-TRIPPERS TOURISTS SPEND A HIGHER PROPORTION OF THEIR BUDGET OUTSIDE OF CENTRAL AREAS BUT CONTINUE TO IMPOSE COSTS AROUND MAIN ATTRACTIONS VISITS ARE LESS FLEXIBLE: MORE SEASONAL VARIATION
D TOURIST REGION EXPANDS
AS VISITORS STAY FURTHER AFIELD, THEY VISIT THE CENTRAL AREAS FOR INCREASINGLY SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME
DIVERGENCE BETWEEN AREA OF COSTS AND AREA OF BENEFITS INCREASES
PRICES IN CENTRAL AREAS INCREASE TO SUBSIDISE THE POOR RETURNS TO THE CULTURAL SECTOR AND TOURISTS CHOOSE TO STAY IN LESS CENTRAL LOCATIONS
SEEN IN THE INCREASE IN TOURIST ACCOMMODATION IN MESTRE
FI G URE 11 -THE VI CI O US C I R C L E O F TO U R I S M D E V E L O P M E N T SOURCE
Russo, 2002.
The ‘vicious circle’ of tourism development when the growth of the tourism industry outstrips the capacity of a city’s physical resources. This begins a cycle of decline. Shorter visits result in increased congestion in primary sites; the quality of services decreases along with repeat custom and prices rise to compensate for increasing costs. This increases the area of tourist accommodation and depletes the attraction of the centre, which in turn shortens visits. This spatio-economic dynamic illustrates the link between the expansion of tourism and economic decline. In Venice, the tendency for tourism to block other productive activities, coupled with its seasonal volatility, has created unemployment, extreme tensions around jobs and “an exploited underworld without precedent”.
Regional Law L.431/98 allowed private owners to rent to the tourist market. This successfully reduced the dereliction of the centro storico but caused property prices to more than double between 2000 and 2010, effectively accelerating the process of depopulation. While only one of many tourist rental sites, analysis of Air BnB data clearly illustrates how the tourism industry is inflating the real estate market in Venice. The listings illustrated only include those which are classes as having ‘high availability’ (more than 90 days a year). The high proportion of multiple listings per host demonstrates the extent to which property in Venice (and the Air BnB site) is used as a business venture, rather than homes which are occasionally let out for extra income: one host has 91 listings in Venice; 30 percent of the 4090 listings are owned by only 56 people. AI R B N B - PR I VATE R O O M AIR BNB - ENTIRE HOME
FIGURE 12 - AI R BNB I N VENI CE SOURCE 0
Inside Airbnb 2 km
Of those moving away from the DEATH
30 %
centro storico in 2015, 49 percent relocated to the terraferma within the Municipality of Venice. This
7%
FOREIGN COUNTRY
implies that these residents don’t want to leave the area entirely but that certain factors (such as the
2 622 TOTAL EMIGRATION DESTINATIONS 2015
11 %
ITALY
cost of living, job opportunities, and available housing) are pushing them towards the
4%
49 %
VENETO
WITHIN MUNICIPALITY
mainland cities. The aging demographic of the centro storico also becomes apparent, with 30 percent o the population loss due to death.
FIGURE 1 3 - CENTRO STO RI CO EM I G R AT I O N D E S T I N AT I O N S F O R 2 0 1 5
Comune di Venezia, B01_T01_Movimento E Calcolo Della Popolazione Residente - Anno 2015 Comune di Venezia, B01_T11_Emigrati Italia 15 Comune di Venezia, B01_T12_Emigrati Estero 15
SOURCES -
30 %
65+
30-49
20 %
50-64
15-29
10 % 0-14 1981
1991
2001
FIGURE 1 4 - DEM O G RAPHI C TRENDS I N T H E C E N T R O S TO R I C O -SOURCE
Comune di Venezia, Centro Storico Dati
RELOCATED WITHIN VENETO REGION
53 %
66 % EMIGRATING IN 2015 WERE WORKING AGE 14% 0 - 19
42% 20 - 39
FIGURE 1 5 - EM I G RATI O N I N 2015 BY A G E SOURCES -=
Comune di Venezia, B01_T09_Emigrati Provincia 15 Comune di Venezia, B01_T10_Emigrati Regione 15 - Comune di Venezia, B01_T13_Emigrati Tutti 15
24% 40 - 59
12% 60 - 79
8% 80 +
ITALIAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT BASED IN ROME
STANDARD URBANISTICI STATE TRANSFERS
GENERAL URBAN STANDARDS
APPLIES TO ALL LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN ITALY
REGOLAMENTO EDILIZIO SPECIAL LAW FOR VENICE
GENERAL BUILDING REGULATIONS
CREATED IN RESPONSE TO FLOOD OF 1966
VENETO REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SECOND MOST PROFITABLE REGION IN ITALY ALLOCATES MAJORITY OF FUNDING FOR INFRASTURCTURE PROJECTS DUE TO MANAGING EU FUNDING
PIANO REGOLATORE STATE TRANSFERS APPLIES TO ALL LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN ITALY
PIANO DI AREA
VENICE IS THE CAPTIAL
EU REGIONAL FUNDING ALL EU FUNDING IS ASSIGNED REGIONALLY
METROPOLITAN CITY OF VENICE VERY NEW SYSTEM - CREATED IN 2014 AND REPLACES PROVINCE EFFECTS / POWERS LIMITED AT PRESENT
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
STATE TRANSFERS APPLIES TO ALL LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN ITALY
CONTAINS REGIONAL URBAN STANDARDS REGULATES AREA REQUIREMENTS AND URBAN DESIGN POLICY
PIANO STRATEGICO STRATEGIC PLAN LARGELY CONCERNED WITH TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
GOVERNED BY METROPOLITAN MAYOR VENICE IS THE CAPITAL SO THE MAYOR OF THE CITY IS ALSO THE MAYOR OF THE MUNICIPALITY
MUNICIPALITY OF VENICE CREATED IN 1926 BY COMBINING VENICE AND ITS TERRAFERMA DISTRICTS - STILL TENSION FROM CONFLICTING INTERESTS 65% OF THE POPULATION LIVES ON THE TERRAFERMA
PIANO REGOLATORE INCOME FROM TAX REVENUE VERY LIMITED, INFRASTRUCTURAL COSTS FAR OUTWEIGH INCOME
GOVERNED BY METROPOLITAN MAYOR WHO LIVES OUTSIDE OF MUNICIPALITY CANNOT LEGISLATE, OWNS INFRASTRUCTURE, REGULATES VIA SECURITY
FI G URE 16
MUNICIPALITY SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND DESIGN GUIDELINES
REGOLAMENTO EDILIZIO SPECIFIC BUILDING REGULATIONS WITH REGARD TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND CITY CONTEXT
PO LI TI CAL ST R U C T U R E A S R E L E VA N T TO T H E D E V E L O P M E N T
Venice’s multi-tiered system of government complicates bureaucratic procedure to the point of inertia. This climate of indecision and conflicting aims and policies suffocates meaningful development initiatives. The diagram above illustrates Venice’s tiered political structures and their relationship to development and regulatory proceedures for the built environment. It does not attempt to be comprehensive but to provide a simplified and clear illustration of the main elements.
FIGURE 1 7
CRUI SE SHI PS PASSED D O WN T H E G R A N D C A N A L U N T I L 2 0 1 2
FIGURE 1 8
CRUI SE SHI P DO CKED AT T H E M A R I T T I M A
In recent years Venice’s cruise industry has become the subject of widespread protests. Although cruise tourism only accounts for two percent of visitors to the centro storico it is the most visible indicator of the presence of the city’s destructive tourism industry and its environmental impact is significant.
FI G URE 19
CANALETTO ’S C R U I S E S H I P
FI G URE 20
BELLO TTO ’S C R U I S E S H I P
The deep dredging required to accommodate the large ships is devestating the fragile ecosystem of the lagoon; the waves generated damage the historic fabric of the city. Cruise ship emissions contain over 100 times as much sulphur as truck diesel and one ship produces pollution equal to that of 5 million cars.
FIGURE 21
NO G RANDI NAVI PRO TES T 2 0 1 6
FIGURE 22
NO G RANDI NAVI PRO TES T 2 0 1 7
FI G URE 23
M O DERN CRUI S E S H I P C O M PA R E D TO T H E T I TA N I C
As a result of the protests and mounting evidence of the damage caused to Venice’s historic fabric and the lagoon ecosystem, cruise ships were banned from sailing down the Grand Canal in 2012, following the Costa Concordia disaster: a cruise ship capsized off the coast of Tuscany. Following the accident, Italian law was changed to ban cruise liners from sailing within 2 nautical miles of inhabited coastline - Venice’s centro storico was listed as an explicit exception. In 2017, protest momentum led the Italian government to announce that by 2022 cruise ships will no longer sail along Venice’s Guidecca Canal and will dock elsewhere. Consensus on alternative arrangements has yet to be reached.
The Port Authority, which manages the city’s ports and profits from Venice’s cruise ship berths is a national body. As such, the Marittima-Tronchetto site and main canals are the only area of direct national interest in the centro storico. This political impotence has delayed action on the grandi navi in Venice, despite years of protests and their limited economic benefit at the local level.
NATIONAL PORTS NATIONAL WATERWAYS FIGURE 24 - AREAS O F DI RECT NATI O N A L I N T E R E S T SOURCE
0
Porto di Venezia 5 km
VENICE
CAVALLINO TREPORTI
PORTO MARGHERA
MIRA
CHIOGGIA
The national government passed a general recommendation (November 2017) which stated that by 2022 cruise ships should no longer pass through the Giudecca Canal and that ships over 55,000 tonnes will dock at Marghera, rather than the Marittima port in the centro storico. The Director of VTP (the port handling company) accepts that in the future cruise ships will no longer dock in the centro storico, but no consensus has been reached regarding the managment of this transition and where the ships should dock in the future. The figure outlines the different options which are currently under consideration. Options 1, 2 and 4 will still see the cruise ships docking at the Marittima terminals and are essentially just different routes to achieve this. Option 4 is a revived plan from the 1930s and would involve extensive dredging and reduce Giudecca to a traffic island. Option 3 sees the cruise terminals relocated to Marghera and the ships using the same Canal (Canali dei Petroli) as the commercial shipping, reducing the amount of dredging required. Option 5 would see the terminals relocated to an offshore port in the Lido outlet, with passengers disembarking and completing their journey into the lagoon on smaller boats. This option is preferable environmentally but contentious due to its impact on the Treporti area, which would suffer the increased loads and emissions.
FIGURE 25 - PRO PO SED CRUI SE SHI P R O U T E S A N D B E RT H S SOURCE
0
Fersuoch
5 km
PROPOSED NEW CRUISE TERMINALS IN MARGHERA
MARITTIMA CRUISE TERMINALS
COMMERCIAL SHIPPING PORT
5 3
2
4
LIDO INLET
1
CURRENT CRUISE SHIP ROUTE TO MARITTIMA
MALAMOCCO INLET
NOTES FIGURES Figure 1: 2015 PROPORTIONAL POPULATION OF VENICE CITY-REGION. Venezia, B02_T05_Quartieri 09.
Data from: Comune di
Figure 2:
THE MUNICIPALITY OF VENICE.
Figure 3:
LAND USE IN VENICE. Data from: Atlante della Laguna <http://www.atlantedellalaguna.it> [Accessed 23 January 2018]
Figure 4:
HISTORIC RESIDENTIAL POPULATION. Data from: Comune di Venezia, A01_T01_Serie Storico Popolazione 13; Comune di Venezia, B01_T01_Movimento e calcolo della popolazione residente - Anno 2015; Settis, If Venice Dies.
Figure 5:
2011 RESIDENTIAL POPULATION DENSITY. Data from: ISTAT, Censimento della popolazione e delle abitazioni, Variabili Censuarie, 2011 <https://www.istat.it/it/ archivio/104317> [Accessed 2 February 2018].
Figure 6: COMPARISON OF RESIDENT AND TOURIST NUMBERS. Data from: Comune di Venezia, A01_T01_Serie Storico Popolazione 13; Comune di Venezia, H01_T01_Movimento Turistico nel Comune di Venezia. Figure 7: TOURISM CARRYING CAPACITY. Interview 2018. Figure 8:
Data from: Costa & Van der Borg, 1988; Van der Borg,
ACCESS POINTS TO THE CENTRO STORICO.
Figure 9: ASSEMBLED POPULATION OF VENICE. Rapporto 141.0.
Data from: COSES, Documento 1104.0.
Data from: Foscari, Elements Of Venice; COSES,
Data from: Foscari, Elements Of Venice.
Figure 10:
POPULATION DENSITY.
Figure 11:
THE ‘VICIOUS CIRCLE’ OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT.
Figure 12:
AIR BNB IN VENICE. Data from: Inside Airbnb <http://insideairbnb.com/venice/ ?neighbourhood=&filterEntireHomes=false&filter HighlyAvailable=false&filterRecentReviews =false&filterMultiListings=false> [Accessed 23 January 2018].
Adapted from: Russo, 2002.
Figure 13: CENTRO STORICO EMIGRATION DESTINATIONS FOR 2015. Data from: Comune di Venezia, B01_T01_Movimento E Calcolo Della Popolazione Residente - Anno 2015; Comune di Venezia, B01_T11_Emigrati Italia 15; Comune di Venezia, B01_T12_Emigrati Estero 15. Figure 14: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS IN THE CENTRO STORICO. Centro Storico Dati.
Data from: Comune di Venezia,
Figure 15: EMIGRATION IN 2015 BY AGE. Data from: Comune di Venezia, B01_T09_Emigrati Provincia 15; Comune di Venezia, B01_T10_Emigrati Regione 15; Comune di Venezia, B01_ T13_Emigrati Tutti 15. Figure 16:
POLITICAL STRUCTURE AS RELEVANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT.
Figure 17:
CRUISE SHIPS IN THE GRAND CANAL. Image: REX, Cruise Ships In The Grand Canal, 2016 <https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/giant-cruise-ships-bannedvenice-11492081> [Accessed 7 October 2017].
Figure 18: CRUISE SHIPS DOCKED AT THE MARITTIMA. Image: Unknown, Cruise Ships in the Marittima, 2013 <http://bimag.it/imprese/innovazione/venezia-terminal_958/> [Accessed 29 November 2017].
01
Figure 19:
CANALETTO’S CRUISE SHIP. Image: Unknown <http://the-history-girls.blogspot. com/2017/12/suicide-by-greed-monsters-looming-over.html> [Accessed 23 October 2018].
Figure 20:
BELOTTO’S CRUISE SHIP. Image: Vince Pastiche <http://the-history-girls.blogspot. com/2017/12/suicide-by-greed-monsters-looming-over.html> [Accessed 23 October 2018].
Figure 21: Figure 22:
NO GRANDI NAVI PROTEST 2016. Image: Unknown, No Grandi Navi, 2016 <https://www. vvox.it/2016/03/09/venezia-battaglia-navale-tra-polizia-e-no-grandi-navi/> [Accessed 23 January 2019]. NO GRANDI NAVI PROTEST 2017. Image: Unknown, No Grandi Navi, 2017 <https://www.
centrosocialerivolta.org/venezia-festa-grande-contro-le-grandi-navi/ > [Accessed 23 January 2019].
Figure 23:
MODERN CRUISE SHIP COMPARED TO THE TITANIC. Image: Urosh Grcic, Cruise Ship vs the Titanic <https://www.ecigssa.co.za/titanic-vs-modern-cruise-ship.t7040/> [Accessed 09 November 2018].
Figure 24: AREAS OF DIRECT NATIONAL INTEREST. Data from: Porto di Venezia, “Domanio Marittimo”, Porto di Venezia - Dove la terra gira intorno al mare, 2018 <https://www.port. venice.it/it/domanio-marittimo.html> [Accessed 7 September 2018]. Figure 25: PROPOSED CRUISE ROUTES AND BIRTHS. Lagoon.
Data from: Fersuoch, Misreading the
REFERENCES Atlante Della Laguna, 2018 <http://www.atlantedellalaguna.it> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Buckley, Julia, “Italy Bans Huge Cruise Ships from Venice City Centre”, The Independent, 2017 <https:// www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/venice-cruise-ship-ban-55-tonnes-marghera-port-where-isit-italy-a8044026.html> [Accessed 6 December 2017] Città di Venezia, Quattordicesimo Rapporto 2012, Ossorvatorio, 2018 Città Di Venezia, Annuario Del Turismo 2014, Assessorato Al Turismo, 2014 Comune di Venezia, Centro storico dati, Popolazione Residente, 2009 <https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/ content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, A01_T01_Serie storico popolazione 13, Popolazione Residente, 2013 <https:// www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilanciodemografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T01_Movimento e calcolo della popolazione residente - Anno 2015, Popolazione Residente, 2015 <https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazionemovimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T09_Emigrati provincia 15, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune. venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T10_Emigrati regione 15, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune. venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T11_Emigrati italia 15, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune. venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T12_Emigrati estero 15, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune. venezia.it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B01_T13_Emigrati tutti 15, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune.venezia. it/it/content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, B02_T05_Quartieri 09, Popolazione Residente, 2018 <https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/ content/statistica-studi-e-ricerche-popolazione-movimento-e-calcolo-bilancio-demografico-2015> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Comune di Venezia, H01_T01_Movimento turistico nel Comune di Venezia, Statistiche Turistiche, 2018 <https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/statistica> [Accessed 23 January 2018] COSES, Rapporto 141.0, Turismo sostenibile a Venezia (Venezia, 2009) COSES, Documento 1104.0, Venezia - Porte di Accesso (Venezia, 2009)
COSES, Documento 1092.0, La mobilità residenziale della città antica risultati dell’Indagine (Venezia, 2009) <http://www.comune.venezia.it/osservatoriocasa> [Accessed 4 January 2018i Costa, Paolo, and Jan Van der Borg, Un modello per la programmazione del turismo, COSES informazioni (Venezia: COSES, 1988) Da Mosto, Jane, Interviewed by author (Venice: 14 May 2018) Di Marco, Galliano, Interviewed by author (Venice: 17 October 2018) Fersuoch, Lidia, Misreading The Lagoon: Eye On Venice Book 30 (Venice: Corte del Fontego Editore, 2015) Foscari, Giulia, and Rem Koolhaas, Elements Of Venice (Baden: Lars Müller Publ., 2014) Pastor, Barbara, Interviewed by author, (Venice: 9 June 2018) Russo, Antonio Paolo, “The “Vicious Circle” of Tourism Development in Heritage Cities”, Annals of Tourism Research, 29 (2002), pp. 165-182. <https://doi.org/10.1016/s0160-7383(01)00029-9> Settis, Salvatore, If Venice Dies, (Bologna: New Vessel Press, 2014) Settis, Salvatore, ‘If Venice Dies’, Venice in Peril. London, 2018. Somers Cocks, Anna, “This is No Way to Solve the Cruise Ship Issue in Venice”, The Arts Newspaper, 2017 <https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/this-is-no-way-to-solve-the-cruise-ship-issue-in-venice> [Accessed 7 March 2018] Sovrani, Eleonora, “Let The Mediterranean Breathe”, We Are Here Venice, 2017 <https://weareherevenice. org/let-mediterranean-breathe-seaofsmoke/> [Accessed 4 April 2018] Van Der Borg, Jan, “Tourism and Urban Development: The Case of Venice, Italy”, Tourism Recreation Research, 17 (1992), pp. 46-56. <https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.1992.11014649> Van der Borg, Jan, Interviewed by author (Venice: 8 June 2018) World Monuments Fund, Cruise Tourism Initiative, World Monuments Watch, 2014 < https://www.wmf.org/ sites/default/files/article/pdfs/WMF_CruiseTourismVenice_final_print_no-margins_WEBsm.pdf> [Accessed 17 February 2018]
C H A P T E R
0 2
THE MAKING OF VENICE H I S T O R Y
&
M O R P H O L O G Y
Venice is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most contextual cities: its peculiarities are derived directly from its situation within the lagoon. This chapter charts the history of the amphibious city, describing its relationship with the Venetian lagoon and the morphological processes which have created the city we see today.
FI G URE 1
BERNARDO CO M B AT T I / 1 8 4 9
Venice’s isolation within the lagoon is the cornerstone upon which Venice’s traditional myths were founded and the source of the city’s peculiarities. The result was a unique socio-political dynamic which emphasised co-operative work, accepted centralised planning restrictions, valued cultural porosity, and honoured an extraordinary aesthetic culture. Despite the media tendency to pose the city and the water as enemies, Venice’s urban form and the lagoon are complementary parts of a single, delicate ecosystem.
The Venetian lagoon has been subject to constant human intervention since the fifteenth century. Other tidal lagoons in the upper Adriatic, such as the Ravenna lagoon, silted up over the centuries. While the Venetian lagoon was naturally occuring, its form today is as much a result of human intervention as the city itself. Over the centuries, waterways were diverted, the coastline was fortified with murazzi; embankments were built to protect against flooding.
4
The works to the lagoon inlets were first conceptualised in the
5
sixteenth century, but werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realised until the nineteenth and
9
twentieth. 1
1324
2
1452
3
1505 2
4
1507
5
1531
6
1534
7
1540
8
1579
9
1613
10
1683
11
1700s
12
12
PELLESTRINA 7 11
CHIOGGIA
(1515) REALISED 1800-1900 DIVERTED WATERWAY PROTECTIVE SEA WALL PROTECTIVE EMBANKMENT
FIGURE 2
-LAG O O N M O RPHO LO G Y SOURCE
0
Zorzi, 1980 5 km
12 11
CHIOGGIA INLET
MALAMOCCO INL
LET
MARGHERA
MESTRE
3
1
VENICE
MURANO
6
BURANO
10
LIDO TREPORTI
11 12
8
LIDO INLET
10
CAVALLINO
FIGURE 3 - BENEDETTO BO RDO NE / 15 2 8
FIGURE 4 - VENETI A, BRAUN & HO G EN B U R G / 1 5 7 2
The physical challenges of survival within the lagoon generated Venice’s famed collective sensibilities and ethos of mediocritas. The inability to independently sustain the city’s population in the lagoon engendered an enterprising reliance on mercantile trade. Life in the ‘physical kaleidoscope’ of shifting reflections, refractions and sensory experiences on the watery plains cultivated a sensory-aesthetic dimension which became enshrined in Venetian culture.
1 2 5
4
6
3
ORIGINAL SANDBANKS
SETTLEMENTS BY 1000:
SESTIERI BOUNDARIES
1
CANALECO
4
RIVOALTO
2
LUPRIO
5
GEMINI
3
DORSODURO
6
OLIVOLO
FI G URE 5 - THE O RI G I NAL S E T T L E M E N T S O F T H E C E N T R O S TO R I C O SOURCE
Zorzi, 1980
1116-1229 30%
1311-1423 6.5%
1521-1606 3.2%
1797-1940 23.5%
1229-1311 21%
1423-1521 7.8%
1606-1797 4.5%
1940-2012 3.5%
FI G URE 6 - THE M O RPHO LO G Y O F T H E C E N T R O S TO R I C O SOURCE
Gianighian, 2018
The contemporary centro storico is derived from eleventh century timber settlements which were founded on the sandbanks of the lagoon. While their configuration has changed, the theme of six has been continued in the six sestieri of the city. The growth of Venice can be loosely categorised into four phases: the initial nuclear development pattern centred on church institutions and the campo; the fourteenth century linear additions to the north and west of the city; the significant nineteenth century alterations; and the large-scale reclamations from the beginning of the twentieth century.
FIGURE 7 - J ACO PO DE BARBARI / 150 0 ( a b o v e )
Jacopo de’Barbari’s famed map of Venice (above) was consolidated from numerous aerial studies of the city, taken from hot air balloon flights. Its accuracy is infamous: the form can be mapped over aerial photographs taken today. The map signalled something of a turning point for Venice: from this point forward the form of the city was seen as complete; whole; finished. While significant areas of land have been reclaimed since this time, the aura of fixity has not been lost. Figure 34 illustrates the churches which formed the focal points for each island parish; generating Venice’s early nuclear morphology [see Chapter 3 for the campo typology, its morphological role and relationship to the church].
F I G U R E 8 -A L E S S A N D R O B A D O E R / 1 6 2 7 ( b e l o w )
FI G URE 9 - LUDO VI CO UG H I / 1 7 2 9
FIGURE 1 0 - HO M ANN ERBEN / 1729
URBAN MORPHOLOGIES: T E N TA C U L A R Bellavitis & Romanelli identify two primary morphological structures which define the seemingly random and chaotic urban form of Venice: tentacular and mat. The tentacular morphology is a comb-like form seen in mediaeval settlements which form around a roadway. In the Venetian lagoon, traditional roadways are replaced by waterways; the form is most clearly illustrated by the island of Murano, just north of the centro storico. In Venice, this primary waterway is the Grand Canal. This morphological order is repeated and rotated as it spans outwards from the primary waterway, reducing each time in scale. When combined with the shapes of the naturally occuring waterways - such as the double curvature of the Grand Canal - this logical morphological pattern to forms the irregularity of each island. FIGURE 11 -M URANO O N THE BARBAR I 1 5 0 0 M A P O F V E N I C E FIGURE 1 2 - TENTACULAR M O RPHO LO G Y D R AWN O N T H E O N T H E H O M A N N E R B E N 1 7 2 9 M A P OF VEN IC E
FI G URE 13 - THE CO URSE OF T H E G R A N D C A N A L / D I O N I S I O M O R E T T I / 1 8 2 8 - 9
URBAN MORPHOLOGIES: M AT Each island grew relatively independently; while the connections between were added later and appear quite random, there is logic within the layout of each island. This is defined by the mat typology, which can be seen clearly illustrated in the plan of Chioggia, and island in the southern area of the Venetian lagoon. This linear arrangement is common among classical settlements and is what defines the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fishboneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; street pattern of the centro storico. The central salizzada spine is the local high street. The main campo is usually directly connected to this social and retail axis, while parallel secondary calle (streets) run out towards the surrounding canals. The distortion produced by the curving tentactular morphology is what creates the curves and irregularities in this otherwise linear plan-form. FIGURE 1 4 - PLAN O F CHI O G G I A FIGURE 1 5 - M AT M O RPHO LO G Y KEY P L A N
RIALTO SAN LIO
SAN BARNABA
SAN LIO
SAN BARNABA
RIALTO
FI G URE 16 - M AT M O RPHO L O G I E S
FI G URE 17 - LUDO VI CO UGH I / 1 7 2 9 / / T E R R E N I N U O V I H I G H L I G H T E D FI G URE 18 - THE M O RPHO L O G Y O F T H E T E R R E N I N U O V I ( a b o v e )
This sequence of drawings describe the morphology of the terreni nuovi. They illustrate the development of the area at the end of the fifteenth century, the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century.
FIGURE 1 9 - BERTO J A / 1834
FIGURE 2 0 - J O SEPH KI ER / 1849
FIGURE 2 1 - CARLO BI ANCHI / 1869
FIGURE 22
1975 M AP O F VENI CE AND T H E S U R R O U N D I N G L A G O O N
FIGURE 23
PHO TO G RAPH O F M ARI TT I M A A N D R A I LWAY L I N K I N T H E 1 9 5 0 s
The construction of the causeway to the terraferma in 1846, and the addition of the Ponte della Libertà (for vehicle traffic) in 1933 connected the centro storico to the mainland. The city has been likened to a fish caught on a fishing line. While this new connection may have depleted the unchallenged primacy of the lagoon in terms of transport links, Venice cannot be considered as a separate entity. The last seventy years have seen the loss of two thirds of the centro storico’s resident population and two thirds of the lagoon’s saltmarsh habitats: the management of this World Heritage Site is failing the VENETIAN LAGOON 1970
entire ecosystem. The lagoon has changed dramatically in recent years; these changes are largely the result of the deep dredging necessary to accommodate grandi navi within the lagoon. LAGOON DEPTH (m)
> 0.5 0.25 – 0.5 0.1 – -0.1 -0.1 – -0.25 -0.25 – -0.5 -0.5 – -0.75 -0.75 – -1 -1 – -1.25 -1.25 – -1.5 -1.5 – -2 -2 – -2.5 -2.5 – -5 -5 >
VENETIAN LAGOON 2000
FI G URE 24
CO M PARI SO N O F L A G O O N D E P T H S 1 9 7 0 & 2 0 0 0 - - SOURCE
Atlante Della Laguna
0
10 km
NOTES FIGURES Figure 1: BERNARDO COMBATTI 1849. Image: Bernardo Combatti, Piano topografico dell’isolario di Venezia, 1849 < https://www.oldmapsonline.org/map/cuni/824237> [Accessed 12 October 2018] Figure 2: LAGOON MORPHOLOGY. pp. 54-55.
Data from: Alvise Zorzi, Una Città, Una Repubblica, Un Impero.
Figure 3:
BENEDETTO BORDONE / 1528. Image: Benedetto Bordone, Vinegia, 1528, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 75.
Figure 4:
VENETIA, BRAUN & HOGENBURG, 1572. Image: Braun & Hogenburg, Venetia, 1572 <https://www.sanderusmaps.com/detail.cfm?c=10323> [Accessed 4 March 2019]
Figure 5:
THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENTS OF THE CENTRO STORICO. Data from: Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 25; Alvise Zorzi, Una Città, Una Repubblica, Un Impero, pp. 76-77.
Figure 6:
THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE CENTRO STORICO. and Architectural Conservation do Co-Exist”.
Figure 7:
JACOPO DE BARBARI / 1500. Image: Jacopo de Barbari, Map of Venice, 1500, <http://3. api.artsmia.org/full/111219.jpg> [Accessed 4 October 2018]
Data from: Giorgio Gianighian, “Urban
Figure 8: ALESSANDRO BADOER / 1627. Image: Alessandre Badoer, Disegno della Pianta di Venetia, 1627, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 90. Figure 9:
LUDOVICO UGHI / 1729. Image: Ludovico Ughi, Iconografica Rappresentatione della Inclita Città di Venezia, 1729, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 151.
Figure 10:
HOMANN ERBEN / 1729. Image: Homann Erben, Icongrafica Rappresentatione della inclita Città di Venetia, 1729, <https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/ids:9538205> [Accessed 4 October 2018].
Figure 11:
MURANO. Image: Jacopo de Barbari, Map of Venice, 1500, <http://3.api.artsmia.org/ full/111219.jpg> [Accessed 4 October 2018]
Figure 12:
TENTACULAR MORPHOLOGY. Diagram drawn over: Homann Erben, Icongrafica Rappresentatione della inclita Città di Venetia, 1729, <https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/ view/ids:9538205> [Accessed 4 October 2018].
Figure 13: THE COURSE OF THE GRAND CANAL. Image: Dionisio Moretti, Corso del Canal Grande di Venezia, 1828-9, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, pp. 178-9. Figure 14:
PLAN OF CHIOGGIA. Image: Regione Veneto, Atlante dei centri storici, 1983, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 32.
Figure 15:
MAT MORPHOLOGY KEY PLAN.
Figure 16:
MAT MORPHOLOGIES.
Figure 17: LUDOVICO UGHI / 1729 // TERRENI NUOVI HIGHLIGHTED. Image: Ludovico Ughi, Iconografica Rappresentatione della Inclita Città di Venezia, 1729, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 151. Annotations added. Figure 18:
THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TERRENI NUOVI. Images: Giorgio Gianighian & Paola Pavanini, Ricostruzione dei “Terreni Nuovi de Santa Maria Mazor” alla Fine dei Cinquecento; Ricostruzione dei “Terreni Nuovi de Santa Maria Mazor” alla Fine del Seicento; Ricostruzione dei “Terreni Nuovi de Santa Maria Mazor” agli Inizi dell’Ottocento, in Dietro i Palazzi, p. 49.
Figure 19:
BERTOJA / 1834. Image: Bertoja, Pianta della regia città de Venezia, 1834, <https://iiif.lib. harvard.edu/manifests/view/ids:7930061> [Accessed 4 October 2018].
Figure 20: JOSEPH KIER / 1849. Image: Joseph Kier, Pianta della R. Città di Venezia Secondo lo State Presente, 1849, <iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/ids/7930062> [Accessed 4 October 2018].
Figure 21:
CARLO BIANCHI / 1869. Image: Carlo Bianchi, Nuova Pianta di Venezia, 1869, in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 200.
Figure 22: MAP OF VENICE AND SURROUNDING LAGOON. Image in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 254. Figure 23: PHOTOGRAPH OF MARITTIMA & RAILWAY LINK IN 1950s. Image in Giorgio Bellavitis & Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La Città Nella Storia D’italia, p. 255. Figure 24:
COMPARISON OF LAGOON DEPTHS, 1970 & 2000. Data from: Atlante della Laguna <http://www.atlantedellalaguna.it> [Accessed 23 January 2018]
REFERENCES Atlante Della Laguna, 2018 <http://www.atlantedellalaguna.it> [Accessed 23 January 2018] Bellavitis, Giorgio, and Giandomenico Romanelli, Venezia: La città nella storia d’italia (Bari: Laterza, 1985) Bevilacqua, Piero, Venezia e le acque: Una metafora planetaria (Roma: Donzelli Editore, 1995) Fersuoch, Lidia, Misreading The Lagoon: Eye On Venice Book 30 (Venice: Corte del Fontego Editore, 2015) Fletcher, Caroline, and Jane Da Mosto, The Science of Saving Venice (Turin: Umberto Allemandi & C, 2004) Gianighian, Giorgio, and Pavanini, Paola, Dietro i Palazzi (Venezia: Arsenale Editrice, 1984) Gianighian, Giorgio, et al, “L’altro 90%”, Ananke, 37 (2003), pp. 20-132. Gianighian, Giorgio, “L’acqua di Venezia: dal medioevo all’acquedotto e oltre”, Ananke, 61 (2010), pp. 134145. Gianighian, Giorgio, “Urban and Architectural Conservation do Co-Exist”, in International Forum on Ancient Chinese Architecture (Beijing, 2018) Goy, Richard J, Venetian Vernacular Architecture: Traditional Housing in the Venetian Lagoon (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989) Goy, Richard J, Venice: The City and its Architecture (London: Phaidon, 1997) Goy, Richard J, Building of Renaissance Venice (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006) Howard, Deborah, The Architectural History of Venice, Rev edn (London: Yale University Press, 2004) Plant, Margaret, Venice: Fragile City (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002) Psarra, Sophia, The Venice Variations: Tracing the Architectural Imagination (London: UCL Press, 2018) Standish, Dominic, Venice in Environmental Peril? (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2012) Stoppani, Teresa, Paradigm Islands: Manhattan and Venice, Discourses on Architecture and the City (London: Routledge, 2015) Zucchetta, Gianpietro, Storia dell’acqua alta a Venezia (Venezia: Marsilio, 2000) Zorzi, Alvise, Una Città, Una Repubblica, Un Impero - Venezia 697-1797 (Venezia: Mondadori, 1980)