Wading Through the Acqua Alta

Wading Through the Acqua Alta

You have to walk almost everywhere in Venice, and where you can't walk, you go by water. Occasionally you walk in water, when normally higher fall and spring tides are exacerbated by falling barometers and southeasterly winds. The result is acqua alta—flooding in the lowest parts of town, especially Piazza San Marco, which lasts a few hours, until the tide recedes.

Venetians handle the high waters with aplomb, donning waders and erecting temporary walkways, but they're well aware of the damage caused by the flooding and the threat it poses to their city. Work has begun on the Moses Project, a plan that would close off the lagoon when high tides threaten, but it's a much-debated response to an emotionally charged problem. Protecting Venice and its lagoon from high tides—as well as high use and the damaging wave action caused by powerboats—is among the city's most contentious issues.