Site Visit Objectives:
To know the fragile ecosystem of the Venetian Lagoon, its strengths, weakness and human impacts on it.
To have an overview on Porto Marghera Area as Industrial Area that is going through a redevelopment process in terms of Sustainable Development, although it is still an important industrial point.

Porto Marghera:
Built in 1951, the petrochemical plant at Porto Marghera occupies a strategic position: at the edge of the lagoon of Venice, overlooking the sea.
Porto Marghera industrial site is located 5 km NW the historical center of Venice, between the urban inland (Mestre, Marghera and Malcontenta) and the coastal lagoon.
It spans on an area of 2000 hectares: 1400 ha for industries, 340 ha of water channels; 120 ha for the commercial harbour; 80 ha for roads and railways; 40 ha for State lands.
Over time it has become an important reference point not only for local companies, but also, on a larger scale, for the Northern Italian chemical industry as a whole. The petrochemical industry is currently linked to others sites in the north of Italy and upon which 70% of the Italian chemical industry depends.
The main activities are: coke-derived products, refineries, aluminium and semi-finished material production, shipyards, chemistry, fertilizer production. The petrochemical industry is marked mainly for its chlorine chemistry, which arose quite a bit of controversy due to its effects on the environment.