Moto Ondoso By: Victoria Le No comments

Like any other place, Venice also has its own concerns. Following on from my previous blog post, there is a big issue regarding the physical stability of Venice as a city. Millions of tourists visit Venice a year and yet Venetians are slowly moving out of Venice. You could say it’s partially due to the high flux of tourists but there are other problems that we are forgetting.

Moto Ondoso is a rising problem in Venice. It refers to the wave movements caused by motorboats or ships that result in the erosion of the canal walls. While other cities may be worried about land traffic causing pollution, Venice is on edge due to moto ondoso – it can compromise the city’s structure if left untreated. It is such a concern that they have even created a moto ondoso index!

Credits: Telegraph Uk

So, what can we do as a community to help? At the moment, a company called Insula has been contracted to restore these damage and complete ‘urban maintenance’. I quickly browsed their website to find that they do collaborative work with those who possess the appropriate skills – this includes restoring the embankments and dredging canals.

But what if you don’t possess the skills to help with the restoration process? Well I believe the best we can do is spread awareness about the situation. Spreading more awareness will eventually result in people wanting to help out through other means like contracting more companies to help with the restoration process or setting up a website where people can donate to the cause.

As tourists, we should avoid entering Venice via motorboats or ships that can cause havoc to the buildings and structures. It’s a city on water that is not going to last that much longer if we continue to abuse it like this!