Venice's MOSE: the submerged giant protecting the lagoon

A different kind of trip: discovering an invisible system

Not everyone knows that beneath the lagoon’s calm waters (traversed daily by houseboats, ferries, and working vessels), lies a colossus. It doesn't have the shape of a bell tower or the grace of a Venetian church, and it can't be seen. But it's there. And since it became operational in 2021, it's protected Venice over a hundred times.

The MOSE – Experimental Electromechanical Module – is a system of mobile barriers that are raised only when needed to protect the city from high water. Invisible, submerged and silent. When necessary, it awakens, rises, and becomes a steel barrier against the power of the sea.

From the heart of Venice to the heart of the machine

Our journey begins on board a boat, in Marghera. We cross the Giudecca Canal, passing San Marco, the Schiavoni, and the Giardini. On deck, people discuss the superyachts arriving, the wedding of the year, and the city’s golden reflections.

Then, we leave the social scene behind. We land on an artificial platform, simple and anonymous. There, another kind of discovery begins. A low, grey, unadorned building with a rarified atmosphere welcomes us. We enter the Control Room, where technicians and engineers are watching dozens of screens. It's like being in a sci-fi film, surrounded by graphs, maps, and commands ready to activate the "giant."

Inside MOSE: steel, cables, and sea

We descend into the underground tunnels, 25 meters below sea level. There, only forced air keeps us there. There are no exits, only airlocks for divers, which hopefully will never need to be used. This is the heart of MOSE, surrounded by valves, sensors, ducts, and enormous hinges.

You can see almost nothing. But you can feel everything. It's like being behind a giant curtain, waiting for it to rise. Above us, hidden by the water, a good monster is  sleeping. When the "RAISE" command comes, within 30 minutes its floodgates rise and shut off almost 2 kilometres of sea. That's what happened in 2019, when the sea sought to overwhelm everything.

A Venetian project to be recounted and remembered

Since then, MOSE has intervened silently 139 times, safeguarding Venice and all the lagoon islands . No one sees it in action, but many are thankful for it. It’s a system connecting the future and the past: a masterpiece of Italian (largely Venetian) ingenuity, created amidst controversy and dreams and now finally a reality.

When we return to the surface, the mood is different. No one is looking at superyachts anymore. We’ve seen something bigger: an invisible machine, designed to defend a unique city. Hidden but vial.

Houseboats and the lagoon: another viewpoint

Traveling by houseboat also means sailing above a structure that is unseen, but present nonetheless. Gliding across the lagoon waters, aware that, beneath us, there is an extraordinary technological system silently working for everyone.

So, why not start right here? From this hidden wonder - this submerged barrier that watches over Venice daily. On a houseboat, you can discover not only the visible landscapes, but also the invisible stories that few people know and which make the lagoon unique.