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Sixty-cm Submersion of Venice Discovered Thanks to Canaletto's Paintings

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Abstract

Relative sea level (RSL) rise is a crucial issue for the safeguard of Venice and its historical buildings. The phenomenon over the last three centuries has been investigated by using a proxy of mean sea level: the height of the algae front on palaces. This indicator was accurately drawn by Canaletto and his pupils in their `photographic' paintings made with an optical camera obscura. The positions of the fronts in the 18th century and the present were compared. The RSL rise is due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, both local and global, which affected the land subsidence. An analysis was performed to establish the long-term trend and distinguish between natural and local man contributions. A prudent scenario for the future would suggest a rate between 1.9 ± 0.4 mm yr−1 and 2.3 ± 0.4 mm yr−1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127, Padova, Italy

    Dario Camuffo & Giovanni Sturaro

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  1. Dario Camuffo
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  2. Giovanni Sturaro
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Camuffo, D., Sturaro, G. Sixty-cm Submersion of Venice Discovered Thanks to Canaletto's Paintings. Climatic Change 58, 333–343 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023902120717

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023902120717

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