Discussing the phenomenon of acqua alta in Venice

For our 10th data session, we welcomed Monica Porzionato (PhD student at Lund University) to share her data. Monica’s doctoral project investigates the communicative constitution of the imaginary of a climate-vulnerable coastal city, and the relations such constituting has with the spatio-affective experiencing of urban space. Specifically, her thesis explores how Venice’s urban imaginary is constituted through the everyday conceptualizations and experience of flooding waters. 

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In our session, we discussed short videos made by the Municipality of Venice in order to inform tourists about the phenomenon of acqua alta, the periodic flooding of the city’s premises during winter season, which is becoming more frequent and dangerous due to climate change. These videos give an idea of the ways in which flooding waters are commonly being communicated in Venice to sustain its touristic imaginary as the everlasting city on water, as well as the bodily experiences such an imaginary implies. Furthermore, some excerpts from Monica’s ethnographic work in Venice have been shared and discussed, showing how the everyday encounter with displaced water resists strategic regulation in both material and unruly bodily forms.

Thank you to everyone for once again joining the sessions and for providing helpful insights to Monica!

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Journey of this dataset & idea

Conference paper presented by Monica Porzionato at EGOS2023 in the Standing Working Group 06 (Communication, Performativity and Organization), sub-theme named “Performing the Future Communicatively: How What Does Not Yet Exist Already Makes a Difference”