Venice flood barrier blossoms into coral reef

The Telegraph 2 Apr 08;

A coral reef has bloomed in the Adriatic Sea on the site where a tidal barrier is being constructed to protect Venice.

Marine biologists said the Mose project - a Thames Barrier-style defence around the Venetian lagoon - has proven an irresistible magnet to rare coral, fish and crustaceans.

They have discovered more than 150 different species, including the giant pen shell (Pinna Nobilis), an endangered bivalve that can grow up to 3ft long and is normally found in the warmer waters around Sardinia.

The reef, on the mile-long rock and cement barrier, has taken hold in just two years and is also being visited by the Dustbin-Lid jellyfish (Rhizostoma Octupus), the largest in the Mediterranean, which can measure up to 2ft across.

Andrea Rismondo, a marine biologist at the University of Padua said: "This barrier was built for an entirely different purpose. However, the structure has become an amazing meeting point for all sorts of fish, flora and fauna."

He added that because of global warming, the waters around Venice can now host the sort of fish and coral that were previously found only in the southern Mediterranean or Red Sea.

"This is a paradise for sport fishermen and divers," he said, adding that the reef should be used as a tourist attraction and turned into a marine park.

Fulco Pratesi, the founder of WWF Italy, said he was not surprised that a tropical reef had taken hold.

"This is not the first time that human construction has provided a refuge for wild creatures," he said.

"Oil platforms often become a sort of paradise for anemones and oysters after a few years of use."

• One of Venice's most famous landmarks, the bell tower in St Mark's Square, is being fitted with two titanium "bands" in a £7 million project to save it from collapse.

The 325 ft tower, constructed in the 16th century on thousands of wooden posts driven deep into the mud, is now leaning by almost 3in.

The bell tower has collapsed before, in 1902. Remarkably, no one was killed, except for the caretaker's cat. An exact copy of the tower was rebuilt in 1912.