Looking for Rights of Nature in the Lagoon of Venice
A Cultural-Historical Argument to Welcome Nature in European Politics
Abstract
This essay examines the historical perception of the Venice Lagoon as a political agent, its cultural resonance, and the recent Declaration of the Rights of the Venice Lagoon (2025). The essay takes its first steps from the recent campaign for the Rights of the Lagoon, challenging the dominant narrative that sees Rights of Nature (RoN) as incompatible with European legal and cultural traditions. Drawing on four pillars (ecosystem services, historical tradition, cultural relevance and sentimental connection) this work aims to reconcile RoN with Europe’s diverse heritage, using the Lagoon’s long-standing agency and recognition as a case study.
Presentato: 03 Marzo 2026 | Accettato: 01 Giugno 2026 | Pubblicato 06 Agosto 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords Deep ecology • More-than-human rights • Environmental humanities • Ecocentrism • Rights of Nature • Venice Lagoon • Ecological justice • Venice • Local ecological knowledge
Copyright © 2026 Pietro Consolandi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.