Waters Edge in Venice

Our view of the Grand Canal from atop the Rialto Bridge - Venice, Italy

We spent a week in Venice and I often thought about the slow sinking of this beautiful city while walking. It was hard to imagine it being gone completely. The streets are at times very close to the water line, even in the spring when I was there but to have the entire city submerged was beyond me.

Winter months are when it seems one - or at least I as a tourist - would expect to have water overlap the streets. Do you remember the big December 2008 flood photos - with everyone wearing stylish hip-waders?

That winter it was said to be the deepest flood in 22 years. I read in an old Evening Independent that in 1966 both Venice and Florence experienced the worst flooding since the Middles Ages! Even the mayor of Florence was quoted as saying that the Arno River did more damage to the city than the water.