Venice’s warm waters and sandy beaches have attracted tourists from around the world for centuries.
Now, locals and tourists alike have one place to set up their chairs as a new island near the historic city.
In the past, the hidden island of Bacan was formed during the summer months before being swept away by typhoons.
But due to the problem of flooding, the refuge that is hated by tourists has become a permanent place for the lake and its thriving ecosystem.
The sand is 250 meters long and 10 meters wide, and the sides are covered with dense vegetation.
Bacan now has a variety of swamp plants such as samphire, rushes, native flowers, and small salt-resistant cedars called tamarisk.
With new roots that have kept the soil in place, the island hasn’t been empty since 2020 when flood defense workers were on vacation during the winter.
However, even as people living on the coast celebrate the birth of a new beach, some experts warn that this could be a worrying sign for Venice’s fragile environment.
Venice is now home to a new island that was once a beloved secret for locals looking to escape the summer crowds.
In the deep sea of Venice, small islands of sand can be formed from the slightest disturbance to the shock of the waves.
It takes so little for a wave to create a new island that the locals have a saying: ‘Palo fa palugo’ which means ‘a tree makes an island’.
What made Bacan unique among the ever-changing islands was its climate.
During the warmer months when the water is low, Bacan emerges from the water where its quiet, inaccessible beaches have made it a popular destination for the residents of Castello, a district south of Venice.
Then, in the winter, when the tides that usually flood the city come, the island would be washed away.
However, the island remained firmly above the waves for the past four years.
According to Giovanni Cecconi, an engineer from the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice, the stability of the island was due to the MOSE flood that has protected the city since 2020.
The MOSE barrier, which Cecconi worked on, is a series of movable gates that go up to separate Venice from the Adriatic Sea during the winter.
Bacan Island was originally a sandbar that rises in the summer and disappears in the winter. However, it has grown in recent years and has not been washed since 2020
Venice has been experiencing flooding as strong Sirocco winds combined with high tides to raise water above the city’s streets.
However, in recent years, these floods seem to be getting more frequent and worse.
In 2019, the worst floods on record left 80 percent of the city under water as sea levels rose 1.8m above normal.
The MOS barrier helps to prevent flooding by temporarily closing the sea from the Adriatic when high tides are predicted.
However, the result is that these strong currents are no longer washing away the sands of Bacan.
Father Cecconi said The Times: ‘By raising a barrier in the winter to stop the high water, the island is protected from the waves that used to destroy it.
The location of the island may also explain why it has grown so much since the MOS was established.
Facing one of the three floodgates, Bacan can benefit from increased water levels during the summer months.
Some experts say that the island is stable because of the MOS barrier (pictured) that separates Venice from the Adriatic. This barrier can accelerate the current to bring more sand when it is open and protect the island from cold winds when it is closed.
Venice has experienced some of the worst flooding in recent years, culminating in the 2019 flood (pictured). The MOS barrier is an important defense against sea level rise
Mr. Cecconi says: ‘The barrier … accelerates the flow of water into the basin when it is open, meaning that more sand enters, helping to support Bacan.’
And when the island is covered with vegetation, its soil becomes more stable, making it more likely to survive future erosion.
“It’s a new ecosystem and it shows that the lake can improve with human intervention,” Cecconi adds.
However, not every expert is satisfied with Mr Cecconi’s explanation.
Professor Adrea D’Alpos, an expert on the evolution of coastal areas from the University of Padua, told MailOnline that it is a mistake to say that the design of Bacan comes from the closure of MOSE.
He said: ‘The growth of this small piece of sand and mud, which is spreading with vegetation, was mainly due to various factors that interact in different ways according to the conditions.’
In addition, Professor D’Alpos points out that the design of Bacan already started before the first launch of MOSE in October 2020.
This means that flood barriers around the city may be only one part of a larger and more complex picture.
Bacan (pictured) has now been replaced by plants including roses, rushes, samphires, and tamarisk cedars.
Nor is Professor D’Alpos convinced that Bacan will be a seaside resort for future generations of Venetians.
He said: ‘I can’t say it will last. Although the island is growing and its elevation is now above sea level, its long-term persistence is unknown.’
In opposition, Professor D’Alpos also says that the growth of the Bacan ecosystem is not a sign that the environment is recovering.
While MOSE’s flood barriers are critical to the survival of Venice, they also have a significant impact on the surrounding area.
Most importantly, by preventing high tides from flooding the land, the barrier prevents sediment from reaching the salt marshes surrounding the city.
“While the opening of MOSE is important for protecting Venice from high tides, it significantly reduces storm surges and reduces the frequency of saltwater flooding,” says Professor D’Alpos.
‘This, in turn, reduces the deposition of sediment on wetlands, threatening their longevity.’
Studies have shown that Venice’s salt marshes take 70 percent of their growth from winter storms.
However, the formation of the island may be a sign that the flood defenses are preventing storms that carry sediment to nearby salt marshes. This can result in an important ecosystem that stores 30 times more CO2 than a forest of its size.
Venice’s saltwater waterfalls have been slowly disappearing for centuries, possibly due to poor water management since the 1500s when water was diverted from the sea.
Since salt marshes absorb 30 times more CO2 than forests, their disappearance would be a major global problem.
And, since salt marshes prevent storm surges and reduce flooding, anything that slows its growth will be large in Venice itself.
So, while the new life in Bacan may be good news for beachgoers, it could be a sign of worrisome changes to come.
