Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rivers & Tides
The lagoon is a great shallow dish, where ocean tides meet freshwater streams from alpine
rivers. The salty-sweet lagoon is protected by a slender 50km arc of islands, halting the
Adriatic's advances. Between Punta Sabbioni and Chioggia, three
bocche di porto
(port en-
trances) allow the Adriatic entry into the lagoon. When sirocco winds push ocean waves to-
ward the Venetian gulf, or
seiche
(long waves) gently unroll along the Adriatic coast,
acque
alte
ensue. These seasonal tides help wash the lagoon clean of extra silt and maintain the
salty-sweet balance of its waters.
Venice's plague quarantine island of Lazaretto Nuovo serves a new decontamination function: Venetian
marshland grasses found efective in absorbing industrial pollutants are currently being propagated out-
side the quarantine-barrack walls.
