Venice is hit by serious flooding

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Venice has been hit by the biggest flood in more than 20 years, with waters rising 1.56m (5ft) above normal.

Many of Venice's streets, including the famous St Mark's Square, were submerged, before the high waters began to retreat.

The lagoon city in the Adriatic suffers some level of flooding for about 200 days every year.

The authorities are planning to complete the building of an underwater dam to protect the city by 2011.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7758204.stm

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Maybe you need to have visited Venice to understand this tragedy.

[YOY]

1. A gorgeous city built on a swamp.

Sheltered from raiders by brilliant design but doomed to eventually sink.

Very sad.

[jdlh8894]

2. Kind of like NO /eom

[Acadia Blue]

7. The more the earth warms the sooner Venice sinks.

[Rebubula]

3. The only tragedy..

..is that they built Venice in a lowlands.

I have been to Venice a couple of times (prefer the cuisine in the South - Naples, Salerno) and was always amazed that it was NOT underwater. It will be sad if we lose all the wonderful architecture, but if it did (and I do not hope) end up underwater - what an amazing dive spot that would be!!!

[JJ]

4. already is

I saw a documentary a few years ago where they showed parts of the city that were underwater from centuries ago. The foundations of the buildings are fascinating.

[CTyankee]

14. I was in St. Mark's Square last May and at noon the square began to flood.

I headed for the side streets but people were taking off their shoes and rollingup their pants legs to wade. Given the amount of pigeon crap in the square, it didn't look to sanitary to me...

[onager]

5. I was there in February.

Never been to Venice before. Took the train from Rome. Had no idea what I was doing, other than going to Venice because I'd always wanted to see it.

When I checked in, the hotel desk clerk said: "Do you know this is the last night of Carneval?"

No, I did not. Threw bags in room and WENT OUT. Right THEN. I just followed groups of interesting-looking people in costumes all over the place. That seemed as good a way as any to learn my way around. The crowds led me to St. Marks and the Rialto Bridge. Also down a thousand interesting alleys, dark streets, cul-de-sacs and small piazzas where the citizens were partying.

I'm so glad I went. That city just rises out of the water like a dream.

I can appreciate the local legend about the doctor who stayed in Venice thru the worst of the Black Plague, when almost all the other doctors either left or died. When asked why he stayed behind, he said: "Because I would rather die in Venice than live anywhere else."

For anyone interested in a great history of that fascinating city, I highly recommend A History of Venice by J.J. Norwich. It's a classic and rightly so.

I didn't know Venice had the very first universal health coverage in the world. But it did, centuries before anyone else in Europe thought of it. The city government paid for 6 doctors who were charged with taking care of everyone.

Separation of church and state? The Venetian constitution strictly forbade church meddling in government, and even required that all higher-level Catholic clergy be approved after the Pope nominated them.

Venice had to really do some side-steps when the Pope asked them to furnish ships for one of the Crusades against the evil Muslim infidels in Egypt. Venice had just signed a major trade agreement with Ashraf el-Khalili, the Muslim ruler of Egypt.

It's a long book but never dull, and Norwich gets wonderfully snarky in places. e.g., writing about a woman with a very...active love life, he notes: "She was exiled, rather inappropriately, to the Isle of Lesbos."

:rofl:

[Acadia Blue]

8. How wonderful to be able to travel to Venice.

[onager]

10. I work/live in Egypt

So it's fairly easy to get anywhere in Europe in just a few hours.

You're right, it's wonderful and I do realize how lucky I am. Though I occasionally forget it when the job is driving me crazy. Like all of us, I guess.

I live in an ancient and interesting city that, like Venice, is occasionally plagued by flooding: Alexandria.

[Solly Mack]

6. I love Venice

:(







Going back next year

[cloudythescribbler]

9. St Mark's Sq floods all the time -- I saw it flood when I was there as a kid -- but ...

I wonder how much it would cost to shore up the City, and what kind of research is being done on methods to do it. If anyone knows, I'd REALLY like to see some info on that, maybe some linx

[RetailSlave]

12. The MOSE system is currently under construction...

http://www.veniceword.com/news/8/mose.html


But I was just looking at some photographs on the Correre della Sera site, and there are areas of Venice flooded that I've NEVER seen underwater (and I've been there quite a few times). I'm waiting right now to hear back via email from friends there about what their experiences are.

[Endangered Specie]

11. In other news: Berlusconi toshare birthday cake with McCain

[davepc]

13. Was there last April when visiting family in Italy. Beautiful city.

[Dead_Parrot]

15. Well, Duh.

(Couldn't resist)

:hide:

[crim son]

16. Been there and loved it.

There was already talk of the waters rising twenty years ago. I wonder how the underwater dam would work.