There’s a new island on the map of Venice and its famous lagoon – a previously secret and transient islet that would form only in the summer months that has, since 2020, become a year-round fixture, some say as a result of a new flood barrier designed to protect the historic city.
Transient island charm now available all year
Bacan island is essentially a sandbank that has taken shape between Sant’Erasmo and Punta Sabbioni every summer, becoming a temporary haven for in-the-know Venetians and their families. Just 250 metres long and 10 metres wide, Bacan is known as a favourite picnic spot, accessible only by boat, where locals can escape the crowds of visitors elsewhere.
Historically, stormy weather has washed Bacan away at the end of the high season, its ephemerality perhaps adding to its charm, but the last time the islet disappeared for the winter was in 2020. That coincides with the launch of Venice’s flood barrier system, Mose, in position at multiple inlets around Venice’s waterways, to prevent disasters such as a 2019 sea level surge of 1.8m that flooded 80% of the city.
New Island Appears Near Venice, Becoming a Permanent Beach.
— RTF News (@rtf_news) December 16, 2024
The island of Bacan, once seasonal, is now permanent thanks to a flood barrier, but experts worry about Venice's fragile ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/VVkd42449s
Is Venice’s flood barrier helping the island?
One engineer who worked on the system, Giovanni Cecconi, told The Timesthat the reason Bacan has become a permanent island is that its shores are being built up by extra sediment in the summer, and protected in the winter, by the flood barrier.
“The barrier … accelerates the flow of water into the lagoon when it is open, meaning more sand comes in, helping sustain Bacan,” Cecconi explains. “And by raising the barrier in winter to stop high waters, the island is protected from the surges that used to erode it,” he added.
Cecconi also highlighted the island’s vegetation, a new ecosystem of samphire, rushes, native flowers, and salt-resistant cedars known as tamarisk, will also serve as protection from erosion.
Not a promise but a threat
For now, visits to Bacan are by private boat only, though some boat tours could offer a chance to stop by. But for others, the existence of Venice’s newest island is less a promising sign of the triumph of nature or a tourist opportunity, more a sign of troubled waters ahead for another precious ecosystem.
The salt marshes around Venice, a rich habitat and carbon sink, are also being affected by the same phenomenon that has given Bacan island a stronger toehold in the lagoon. The flood barriers “limit the extent and duration of salt marsh flooding,’ Professor D’Alpos, a hydrologist from Padua University, says, noting that “This, in turn, diminishes sediment deposition on the marshes, threatening their long-term survival.”
