Venezia 2020

THOUGHTFUL OUTLOOK WITH TWO VISTAS AND A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY TO CELEBRATE SOON ... IN THE YEAR 2020:
It seems that fall is a special time to get thoughtful about Venice. This is not because we suffer from collective winter depression, this but our state of mind is triggered as we witness one acqua alta after the other, mild ones, really bad ones and the usual ones.. 
Even in the midst of summer you find puddles in the late morning in the Piazza, and I remember I saw puddles there also 20 years ago, even in June, July and August. At that time, in the early 1990s, my grandfather told me that Venice was sinking one centimeter every ten years ..
Northern rim of the lagoon
Research converges on the fact that the winding, capillary canals are required to disperse the masses of water entering the lagoon. 
During the times of the Venetian Republic, there were almost no acqua alta incidences, because this law of the lagoon, taking care of the natural waterways and capillary canals, was respected. Since the late 1950s, both paths and depth of the canals criss-crossing our lagoon have been changed, and some areas in the lagoon have even been filled (le casse di colmata).
Major canals were made broader and deeper to allow oil tankers reach the harbors at Marghera and Fusina via the lagoon (Canale dei petroli, the oil tankers' canal, is such a major canal dug deep into the lagoonscape).
Huge cruise ships, when they enter the lagoon,displace consistent amounts of water which arrive directly against the quais of San Marco. On 21 September 2013, we counted 12 huge cruiseships in Venice during one single day !!! There was no way to escape the sight of them, whereever you went, no matter whether you go "up" (on the campanile), or if you stay right "down" in the Piazza ..
View from above: with cruiseship
View from below: with cruise ship
WHEN I TITLE THIS PAGE AS "VENEZIA 2020", YOU MIGHT EXPECT ME TO REFER TO SOME FUTURE "PROGRESS" MADE. For Venetians though, the year 2020, and sometimes also 2030, means that ONE of the various scenarios already made on what life will be like, will have become reality. 
We don't know which. Venetians get very thoughtful about their future, they always are at the back of their mind. This thoughtfulness is expressed in various manners, even in music. La Ghenga fuori posto, for example, a popular group of muisicians based in Mestre, have recorded a video reflecting the ironic spirit of the Venetians: 
The scene described in this video is that the city council of Venice will pay actors to sit around in restaurants and on the doorsteps playing Venetian pensioners and inhabitants. By 2020, all former Venetian inhabitants have become pendolari (communters that live on the mainland but go to Venice for work), taking the morning train to reach  la città dei divertimenti, the city of fun, which you reach easily when you exit at "Venice San Marco Subway Station". In the meantime, the lagoon has been closed like a swimming pool and all life has retreated. Sounds like an eerie scenario ..
I can understand very well that getting a close-up view of Venice, standing on deck of a cruise ship must be great, still there are two perspectives as there are two sides of a coin. Take a look at the videos below to view those two perspectives.
This is what the visitors on deck of the cruise ships see:
This is what Venetians see: 
"Nave da crociera sfiora San Marco": A near-miss accident in summer 2013, when the cruise ship makes a mistaken maneuvre and passes at less than 20 meters from Piazza San Marco !!
Venetians are VERY concerned with this state,. On example is how in November 2013, an 80-year -old Venetian paid to place his message, including an idea on how to resolve the issue, on the daily La Nuova Venezia with regard to the Big Ships (Grandi Navi).
The solution proposed is putting the MOSE dams into place,  in case acqua alta is threatening the lagoon. A few weeks ago, Mose was tested - follow this link to see what it looks like.
It remains to be seen whether cutting off the inflow of sea water into the lagoon on a temporary (or semi-permanent) basis by the MOSE barriers, will damage life in the lagoon (animals, fish, plants): A very delicate equilibrium, a unique habitat benefiting from the correct mixture of both sea and fresh water.  
Fact is, the intensity and the rate of acque alte is rising, so it is nothing to rejoice in, as was done by these tourists you can see in a video taken in November 2012.
In the year 2020, Venice will be officially 1599 years old .. I'd love to celebrate this special birthday in town.