The Lagoon Atlas is the project through which the City of Venice Lagoon Nature Observatory, is committed to providing the latest scientific knowledge about the complex environment of the Venetian Lagoon to the widest possible audience. Following the publication of the volume last February, the same great quantity of information is now made available to the wider public of web-users, in the belief that the sharing of knowledge based tools can make the vision of a human community inhabiting its Lagoon with respect for those natural and cultural values that makes it a precious heritage of humanity, more of a reality.
We must thank all those who have made the creation of this instrument and its further development and continuous updating possible. Particular thanks go to the Lagoon Nature Observatory which has been able to create a network of relationships between different scientific institutions and coordinate the intense work by collecting not only data but also motivating forces and a growing passion for the study and protection of such a delicate and unique ecosystem. Thanks to its work in recent months, it has been possible to transform the printed version of the Atlas to a digital Atlas, seeking to remain in line with the original version as much as possible in order to maintain its spirit and consistency.
Our deepest thanks also go to all the institutions which have made the results of their work available for an objective which is shared by all those who love Venice and its lagoon; we hope that this cooperation will remain as lively and fruitful.

Pierantonio Belcaro
Deputy Mayor for the Environment
City of Venice

As a result of an increase in research and the evolution of environmental legislation, it should be easier to obtain in-depth knowledge of the environment surrounding us, thus permitting us to respect its characteristics and to protect it from damage caused by ignorance and negligence.
However, the accessibility of information and its systematisation aimed at best representing a complex equilibrium of different components, such as our Lagoon, is often still an objective to be reached rather than a reality.
Thanks to the original Lagoon Atlas and also to its new web version, this knowledge is made available to technicians from different fields, to citizens that love their territory and to all those dedicated to the Venice Lagoon and its future. The possibility of navigating through thematic maps which are comparable and can be superimposed helps perceive the variety and suggests the need for a more organic vision of the whole.
We, who have the task of managing a unique and extremely delicate environment such as the Venice Lagoon, must accept the challenge posed by these instruments: that of managing complexity through a systematic approach along with constantly renewed commitment and sensitivity.

Gianluigi Penzo
Director of the Environment and Territorial Safety Department
City of Venice