This thesis analyzes the complex legal picture protecting Venice and its lagoon, a unique ecosystem threatened by a development model increasingly focused on economic exploitation. The research investigates whether the progressive erosion of this environmental heritage stems from an inherent lack of protective instruments or, rather, from their distorted and opportunistic application. Adopting a multilevel case-study approach, the first part reconstructs the evolution of national environmental law and the stratification of the special laws for Venice (notably those of 1973, 1984, 1992), highlighting their internal tensions. The second part examines two emblematic case studies. The first, regarding "grandi navi", demonstrates how international pressure from UNESCO catalyzed state intervention, which was subsequently hindered by local dilatory strategies driven by economic interests. The second, the "bosco dello Sport" project, reveals how weak regional planning tools and urban practices based on bargaining can undermine sustainability goals ab origine. The comparative analysis reveals a dual pathology: the evasion of mandatory regulations (“grandi navi”) and the diligent application of structurally ineffective ones (“bosco dello sport”). Consequently, the crisis of environmental protection is not merely legal but cultural, rooted in an anthropocentric vision that reduces nature to a mere resource for exploitation. In conclusion, the thesis argues for the necessity of a relational approach that recognizes the lagoon as a partner in a vital symbiosis—a fundamental prerequisite for both the effective application of law and the very survival of Venice.