Venetians Wait For Mosè To Part Waters

An unusually high tide, coupled with heavy rains and wind, recently caused the worst flooding in Venice in two decades. News of the aqua alta (high water) again reminded all concerned about safeguarding irreplaceable art and architecture in the famous city that rising seas, combined with a sinking city due to subsidence, threaten to overwhelm La Serenissima. Venetians are anxiously awaiting the completion of the MOSE Project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico—Experimental Electromechanical Module), a series of hydraulic floodgates being built at the three inlets that link the Venice lagoon to the Adriatic Sea that are intended to protect the city from flooding and high seas.

The question is, will the system of submerged gates, named after the biblical patriarch Moses (in Italian Mosè), rise up and part the Adriatic Sea, preventing it from engulfing Venice?