Ribau Esteves travelled to Italy where he was received by Pierpaolo Campostrini, general director of the “Consortium for the Coordination of Research Activities on the Venice Lagoon System” (CORILA), which brings together the regional government, the Venice City Council and several Italian and multinational companies.

It is up to that entity to monitor and participate in the design and co-management of projects and works on Venice's dikes, known as the MOSE system, as well as other activities under development within the scope of the sustainability of the city.

“Knowledge of the MOSE system is of the utmost importance for deepening the work of defining solutions for the defense of the territory of the Ria de Aveiro and specifically the City of Aveiro, and a commitment to cooperation has been made, in this context, at a political and technical level”, highlights the Portuguese mayor.

Speaking to Lusa, Ribau Esteves states that the two cities have “interesting affinities” and adds that, following the visit, another more technical trip will be scheduled, to visit the MOSE system on the ground, and then a delegation will come to Aveiro to discover the reality of the Ria de Aveiro canals.

“The objective of this institutional, political and technical cooperation is to be able to find ideas and contributions of a technical nature, in terms of solutions, that help us make good decisions”, explained Ribau Esteves.

Before any work is undertaken, Ribau Esteves wants to deepen cooperation with the Italian authorities, particularly on the engineering techniques used to defend Venice, which could prove useful.

“The reality is that of a different sea, the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, it is not the Atlantic, but it is a concrete case (the MOSE system), which we must reflect on and discuss”, concluded the mayor.