Instead, one of the city’s lowest places, St. Mark’s Square, remained dry, still filling it with tourists.
Venetian Mayor Luigi Brunjaro watched the barrier lift from the ship, emotionally announcing, “We are satisfied.” He later noted success by standing in the drought on the lagoon of the island of Pellestrina, which is usually flooded first.
About 100 technicians took just over an hour to install 78 inflatable barriers in place.
Testing of the flood defense system was launched in July this year. It was due to become operational in 2011, but for various reasons, including corruption scandals, project implementation was delayed.
In November last year, Venice experienced the worst floods in at least 50 years. City officials have estimated that the floods cost about a billion euros.
The project is called “Moses” (“Moses”), which is associated with the biblical image that distinguished the waters of the Red Sea, but is also an acronym in Italian for experimental electromechanical models.
Almost six billion euros have been invested in the planning and development of the flood defense system.
Environmental activists opposed it, fearing that the system would disrupt the delicate ecology of the lagoon.
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