Water is something Venetians are accustomed to, but this flood will be remembered for a long time.
The high-tide finally stopped at 156 cm, the fourth historical data registered in Venice (which began in 1872). It missed for only 4 cm the height of 160 cm, which was registered back in December, 1979. A strong wind pushing the sea inside St. Mark square worsened the situation and the alarm which rang at 6.37 AM was not sufficient to alert Venetians and tourists, because the authorities didn't forecast a high-tide of this magnitude.
In four days I'll be there and I don't yet know if I'm lucky to be spending this day here, in the cold and snowy Madrid, or if being there would've been an experience I would have remembered for the years to come. Yes, I'm a Venetian and the high-tide it's something I'm used to, so as I'm accustomed to see streets, restaurants, shops, houses, all of them inundated, while the citizens tried to bring things to normality. I read in the newspapers that the wooden walkways you may have seen many times in Venice photos could not be installed, lest they would have floated away with the tide.
I post a couple of galleries from two Italian newspapers, Il corriere della sera and La Repubblica, if you want to have a watch!
La repubblica - Venice photogallery
Il corriere della sera - Venice photogallery
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