Venice issues mayday distress call as floods threaten treasure
VENICE, Italy — Exceptionally high tidal waters surged through Venice again Friday, prompting the mayor to close St. Mark’s Square and call for more donations for repairs just three days after the Italian lagoon city suffered its worst flooding in 50 years.
The high tide peaked at 5 feet above sea level just before noon Friday, flooding most of the historic World Heritage city’s center.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros and blamed climate change for the “dramatic situation.” He also called for the speedy completion of the city’s longdelayed Moses flood defense project.
Brugnaro said he was forced to ask police to block off St. Mark’s Square, which was covered in kneehigh water. Workers in high boots removed the platforms used by the public to cross the iconic square without getting wet.
Venice saw its secondworst flooding on record late Tuesday when water levels reached 6 feet, 1 inch above sea level, the highest flooding in 50 years.
That prompted the Italian government to declare a state of emergency on Thursday, approving 20 million euros ($22.1 million) to help Venice repair the most urgent damage.
“Venice is the pride of all of Italy,” Brugnaro said Friday. “Venice is everyone’s heritage, unique in the world. Thanks to your help, Venice will shine again.”
Venice, a lagoon city built amid a system of canals, is particularly vulnerable to a combination of rising sea levels due to climate change coupled with the city’s welldocumented sinking into the mud. The sea level in Venice is 4 inches higher than it was 50 years ago, according to the city’s tide office.
More than 50 churches have reported damage from the tides, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said. Carabinieri officers from the corps’ worldrenowned squad of art experts were being deployed to map damage to art treasures.
The leader of the rightwing opposition League party, Matteo Salvini, visited Venice on
Friday and also called for renewed efforts to complete the Moses flood defense project, which the Italian government now expects to be completed by 2021.
“We can’t waste time, this city is crying for help,“Salvini said.
Tuesday’s devastating floods have reignited a yearslong debate over Moses, a multibillioneuro project that has been under construction since 2003. The project has not yet been activated, delayed repeatedly by corruption scandals, cost overruns and opposition from environmentalists who were worried about its effects on Venice’s delicate lagoon ecosystem.