Venice: Acqua Alta Update
Jan 8th, 2008, 08:56 AM
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Venice: Acqua Alta Update
NPR had yet another report on Venice Is Sinking... Acqua Alta - the High Water problem that periodically floods much of the city
The report yesterday said:
there have been fewer high waters during the past year and many fewer this Acqua Alta season (fall and winter)
But on average Acqua Alta strikes about 100 times a year
But it's not all day but for about a six-hour period of high tides - then the catwalks which you can always see ready to be put up are put up and folks trapise over them in single file
boats may stop as well as they can't get under bridges
the worst comes when winds from the southi pushes high tides back into the lagoon - full moons and higher tides = more acqua alta i guess
shoe stores rapidly crack out their rubber boots - some quite fashionable and a good souvenir of Venice
The old alarms dating from WWII days have been replaced with tonal chimes - the higher the tone pitch the higher the tide expected
no one lives on ground floor of buildings anymore
fancier hotels have pumping systems that keep the water to a few inches in say the lower areas
the city is dying in other ways just as detrimental as floods - ordinary residents leave and their dwellings converted to boutique hotels, restaurants, etc.
1/3 pop has fled to mainland in last 30 years, leaving 58,000 fulltime residents
vs 20,000,000 tourists a year - leading to the old motto Venice is sinking under the weight of tourism
The MOSES gates that are meant to shut off three inlets to the lagoon from the sea may not help much - some say not at all even though $7 billion has been spent on them
Warnings are sent out from the Tides Forecast Office on the Grande Canale - employing measuring devices in the sea and lagoons, wind-o-meters, etc.
I've never experience Acqua alta in Venice but would like to hear from those that did - i guess six hours would not be that bad but i just can't see tourists hoardes navigating the catwalks very much
The report yesterday said:
there have been fewer high waters during the past year and many fewer this Acqua Alta season (fall and winter)
But on average Acqua Alta strikes about 100 times a year
But it's not all day but for about a six-hour period of high tides - then the catwalks which you can always see ready to be put up are put up and folks trapise over them in single file
boats may stop as well as they can't get under bridges
the worst comes when winds from the southi pushes high tides back into the lagoon - full moons and higher tides = more acqua alta i guess
shoe stores rapidly crack out their rubber boots - some quite fashionable and a good souvenir of Venice
The old alarms dating from WWII days have been replaced with tonal chimes - the higher the tone pitch the higher the tide expected
no one lives on ground floor of buildings anymore
fancier hotels have pumping systems that keep the water to a few inches in say the lower areas
the city is dying in other ways just as detrimental as floods - ordinary residents leave and their dwellings converted to boutique hotels, restaurants, etc.
1/3 pop has fled to mainland in last 30 years, leaving 58,000 fulltime residents
vs 20,000,000 tourists a year - leading to the old motto Venice is sinking under the weight of tourism
The MOSES gates that are meant to shut off three inlets to the lagoon from the sea may not help much - some say not at all even though $7 billion has been spent on them
Warnings are sent out from the Tides Forecast Office on the Grande Canale - employing measuring devices in the sea and lagoons, wind-o-meters, etc.
I've never experience Acqua alta in Venice but would like to hear from those that did - i guess six hours would not be that bad but i just can't see tourists hoardes navigating the catwalks very much
Jan 8th, 2008, 10:13 AM
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I have been to Venice about 10 times in last 5 years and about 5 times I had acqua alta of different levels. The worst was December 2005 but I must say it was a great fun too + gave me occasion for some nice photos.
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...lta/?start=all
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...lta/?start=all
Jan 8th, 2008, 10:37 AM
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We didn't directly experience it this past September, however it began to rain hard the morning of our departure. We took a water taxi to the airport from the nearest vaporetto dock. While we waited for the taxi, we noticed some men bringing out boards, and it seemed there were very few vaporetti going by (and def. no small boats). Our taxi picked us up and got us to the airport - once there, we learned that other visitors' taxi had cancelled on them, but I didn't find out what they did in lieu of their taxi. It was very windy as well, espec. at the airport and our flight did not go out for another 2 hours.
Jan 8th, 2008, 10:49 AM
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I was there in Oct '06 and since it was a full moon, there was acqua alta, though I don't think it was a very big one in comparison to some pictures I've seen....the elevated sidewalks were used -- I enjoyed seeing it, but I'm sure if I lived there, it wouldn't be as enjoyable.
Venice is my favorite city in the whole world and I hate to see the locals leaving it, but I think it's similar to many major cities where the middle class can no longer afford housing. That's why I liked staying in Castello where there are real neighborhoods.
Venice is my favorite city in the whole world and I hate to see the locals leaving it, but I think it's similar to many major cities where the middle class can no longer afford housing. That's why I liked staying in Castello where there are real neighborhoods.
Jan 8th, 2008, 11:32 AM
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lyb
the Corso garibaldi at least several years ago was a typical Italian neighborhood street of small shops and markets - i believe that is in Castello?
Venice is my favorite city as well and yes without the small shops, markets, etc it would still be the world's most visually seductive city but not as interesting
the Corso garibaldi at least several years ago was a typical Italian neighborhood street of small shops and markets - i believe that is in Castello?
Venice is my favorite city as well and yes without the small shops, markets, etc it would still be the world's most visually seductive city but not as interesting
Jan 8th, 2008, 12:46 PM
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PalenQ,
that's exactly where I stayed, on Garibaldi - it was great to come back to my hotel late in the afternoon and seeing people coming home from work, seeing the kids playing outside with their parents, neighbors/friends/family meeting up for dinner...I absolutely loved it!
that's exactly where I stayed, on Garibaldi - it was great to come back to my hotel late in the afternoon and seeing people coming home from work, seeing the kids playing outside with their parents, neighbors/friends/family meeting up for dinner...I absolutely loved it!
Jan 8th, 2008, 01:59 PM
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We experienced acqua alta in Venice for two days this past Thanksgiving. We were all woken by the sirens at 4AM--the 3-hour warning of when the water would begin to seep in.
When we went to the breakfast room at about 8:30AM, The hotel owner, Walter, was staring out the water gate at the canal. I joined him and saw that three of the steps we walked up from the water taxi the day before were totally under water, with two and a half steps to go before the water would come in--which it never did.
Walter began explaining the ins and outs of acqua alta. "We are at 130 cm. The walkway across the canal is at 110 cm." I could see that that walkway was one brick short of being underwater, perhaps 8 cm to go. "Piazza San Marco is the lowest, at just 65 cm so it gets the water most times." Our hotel had a courtyard that is three steps down from lobby level. A small puddle was forming by the drain.
It seems as if the level of almost every building and sidewalk varies. As we walked to the vaporetto stop, we could see houses across the canal with an inch or two of water washing across the pavement and up against the door.
The vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal was very interesting. All along the way and especially by Rialto we noticed waves of water slapping against the doors of the buildings as we passed, some more submerged than others. Some buildings had put their metal barriers in front of the actual doors to keep the worst of the water out.
Motorboats moored at small docks leading from the fondamenta were riding high, their docks submerged. At Rialto, the fondamenta was under water, so the vaporetto floating docks were wildly high above "ground level."
When we got off at San Zaccaria, we experienced this first hand. We stepped off onto the floating dock. Then we headed for the ramp that leads to the stationary dock. Usually this ramp from the floating dock is tilted up to the stationary dock. In this instance, the ramp was tilted down and we were high above the stationary dock, which had water flowing across it. We stepped from the ramp onto the passarelle (raised platforms) that had been placed on the dock. We reached a passarelle crossroads and headed left for Piazza San Marco.
Passarelle led up to the main entrance of the Palazzo Ducale. The stone door frame was high enough at the bottom to keep the water out. Water came directly over the edge of the Grand Canal, totally filled the Piazzeta and the Piazza. If loosed from their mooring, it seemed as if the flat-bottomed gondolas could float right into the piazza.
The piazza is not perfectly flat, so the water level seemed to vary from 4 to 8 inches deep. A network of passarelle were set up, passing in front of the basilica and connecting to both side of the surrouding arcades. Since the arcades are a few steps above ground level, we could walk there with no problems.
Some people were walking through the water. You could tell the tourists by their odd boots--cheap, brightly-colored, ballooning boots laced to their legs, little more than a trash bag with a sole built in. A few people waded across barefoot, unimaginable to me considering the pigeons who live here.
By this time (10:30AM) the water was already receding. A small dry area appeared in the corner of the piazza near the Correr, and the pigeon feed seller immediately set up for business. Imagine all those pigeons crammed into one small area. We also noticed an unsettling number of dead pigeons in the water in the middle of the piazza, with some sea gulls making the best of the situation.
We experienced this two days in a row. It didn't really change any of our plans and actually added to our fun. A very memorable experience.
When we went to the breakfast room at about 8:30AM, The hotel owner, Walter, was staring out the water gate at the canal. I joined him and saw that three of the steps we walked up from the water taxi the day before were totally under water, with two and a half steps to go before the water would come in--which it never did.
Walter began explaining the ins and outs of acqua alta. "We are at 130 cm. The walkway across the canal is at 110 cm." I could see that that walkway was one brick short of being underwater, perhaps 8 cm to go. "Piazza San Marco is the lowest, at just 65 cm so it gets the water most times." Our hotel had a courtyard that is three steps down from lobby level. A small puddle was forming by the drain.
It seems as if the level of almost every building and sidewalk varies. As we walked to the vaporetto stop, we could see houses across the canal with an inch or two of water washing across the pavement and up against the door.
The vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal was very interesting. All along the way and especially by Rialto we noticed waves of water slapping against the doors of the buildings as we passed, some more submerged than others. Some buildings had put their metal barriers in front of the actual doors to keep the worst of the water out.
Motorboats moored at small docks leading from the fondamenta were riding high, their docks submerged. At Rialto, the fondamenta was under water, so the vaporetto floating docks were wildly high above "ground level."
When we got off at San Zaccaria, we experienced this first hand. We stepped off onto the floating dock. Then we headed for the ramp that leads to the stationary dock. Usually this ramp from the floating dock is tilted up to the stationary dock. In this instance, the ramp was tilted down and we were high above the stationary dock, which had water flowing across it. We stepped from the ramp onto the passarelle (raised platforms) that had been placed on the dock. We reached a passarelle crossroads and headed left for Piazza San Marco.
Passarelle led up to the main entrance of the Palazzo Ducale. The stone door frame was high enough at the bottom to keep the water out. Water came directly over the edge of the Grand Canal, totally filled the Piazzeta and the Piazza. If loosed from their mooring, it seemed as if the flat-bottomed gondolas could float right into the piazza.
The piazza is not perfectly flat, so the water level seemed to vary from 4 to 8 inches deep. A network of passarelle were set up, passing in front of the basilica and connecting to both side of the surrouding arcades. Since the arcades are a few steps above ground level, we could walk there with no problems.
Some people were walking through the water. You could tell the tourists by their odd boots--cheap, brightly-colored, ballooning boots laced to their legs, little more than a trash bag with a sole built in. A few people waded across barefoot, unimaginable to me considering the pigeons who live here.
By this time (10:30AM) the water was already receding. A small dry area appeared in the corner of the piazza near the Correr, and the pigeon feed seller immediately set up for business. Imagine all those pigeons crammed into one small area. We also noticed an unsettling number of dead pigeons in the water in the middle of the piazza, with some sea gulls making the best of the situation.
We experienced this two days in a row. It didn't really change any of our plans and actually added to our fun. A very memorable experience.
Jan 8th, 2008, 05:25 PM
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I was there in Nov 2004 during acqua alta. It was interesting to see. There was literally a foot or two of water everywhere. it was a bit of a hassle to walk on the planks as they were packed in some areas. I bought the rubber boots - mine were pretty good I have to say, uncomfortable but they kept my feet dry - so I just trudged through in some spots. I wonder if they are still in the coat room at the Ca'Rezzonica where I left them by mistake!
The water just rushed right into people's homes and hotels on the ground floor. Even cafes had to put out planks so you could walk up to the counter to order. I could really see why living in Venice can be a challenge. Lots of tourists took off their shoes and rolled up their pants and went barefoot. You can see how dirty the water is so that was pretty disgusting.
I don't recall any alarm bells. It was pretty self evident that there was flooding!
I don't think it would ruin your vacation if there was flooding but it definitely lost its appeal after the first day.
I wish I knew how to post a photo on here because my favorite photo of the trip was an empty Piazza San Marco except for two sanitation workers sitting at a table in waist high water. I guess at that point they didn't care!
The water just rushed right into people's homes and hotels on the ground floor. Even cafes had to put out planks so you could walk up to the counter to order. I could really see why living in Venice can be a challenge. Lots of tourists took off their shoes and rolled up their pants and went barefoot. You can see how dirty the water is so that was pretty disgusting.
I don't recall any alarm bells. It was pretty self evident that there was flooding!
I don't think it would ruin your vacation if there was flooding but it definitely lost its appeal after the first day.
I wish I knew how to post a photo on here because my favorite photo of the trip was an empty Piazza San Marco except for two sanitation workers sitting at a table in waist high water. I guess at that point they didn't care!
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