Venice transformed from a city with port to a port-city: urban regeneration proposal for the Marittima

Abstract

The city of Venice, which takes part and is highly connected to the complex lagoon system it surrounds itself in, constitutes an interesting case of study with regard to the balance achieved in time between man and water, specifically, between anthropogenic processes and environmental dynamics. The traditional construction techniques in Venice are one of the obvious examples of how human genius has overcome the challenge of water, turning a hostile environment into a place with favorable conditions for life and economic development, mainly commercial one. This balance was based on the deep knowledge of the natural processes which characterize the lagoon. They derived from the constructive knowledge generated by continuous experimentation in the search of suitable backdrops, appropriate materials and techniques. These techniques meet with increasingly complex needs according to an extreme attention to the territory and its resources.

With the rise of the industrial age, in the nineteenth century, Venice reformulates its development strategies focusing on the construction of a new industrial site connected to the port and the touristic promotion of the island. The exceeding of the carrying capacity is definitely one of the most consistent break points of the weak balance that characterizes the city since its inception.

The paper explains a project proposal of the reconfiguration of the Venice Marittima based on the redistribution of touristic flows and on the growth of resilience in the economic, social and environmental city system, focusing on the port as an important strategic resource for the territory.