Sensing a Lagoon: Distance, Care and Cormorants
Abstract
By questioning the dichotomy between epistemology ‘from above’ and ‘from below’, this article presents a multidimensional and multisensory analysis of the Venetian Lagoon ecosystem. It first investigates remote sensing techniques applied to Venetian coastal management, artisanal fishery, and archaeology, tracing the evolution of environmental remote sensing through the work of geographer Evelyn L. Pruitt, who coined the term. The focus then shifts to the cormorants inhabiting the lagoon, whose movement between air and water in search of food – sparking conflicts with fish farmers and anglers – reframes the divide between the world above and the one below the water’s surface, offering a more-than-human perspective on the so-called vertical turn.
Presentato: 24 Marzo 2025 | Accettato: 30 Maggio 2025 | Pubblicato 21 Luglio 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Venetian Lagoon • Vertical Turn in Visual Culture • Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) • History of Remote Sensing of the Environment • Multispecies Relations
Copyright © 2025 Noemi Quagliati. 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.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/LGSP/2785-2709/2025/01/004