There was an article in today's online edition of La Repubblica about some recent bizarre tidal events in Venice, which have essentially caused the city to "run dry" - apparently only the Grand Canal is navigable by boat.

The article is in Italian, but it boasts a pretty fantastic picture of a dried-up canal.
http://www.repubblica.it/2005/a/sezi...cca/secca.html

Try this link for a few more pictures.
http://www.repubblica.it/2003/e/gall...a/venezia.html

Pretty unbelievable stuff!

Freaky. Thanks for the links.

Wow, that's amazing.

These things do happen in Venice from time to time, but not frequently. It's caused by a combination of moon position (which affects tides) and wind, for the most part. Canals will fill up again shortly.

Bizzare..when was this supposed to have happened? Sure is different than when I saw it a couple of weeks ago.

When I was there the gondolas were not running because water levels were so high they couldn't get under the bridges. We spent most of the day walking on planks, but at one point the planks were underwater so we were stuck in the hotel. Geez....what is the opposite term for Aqua Alta?

>what is the opposite term for Aqua Alta? <

Acqua Basso?

I thought Venice was supposed to be sinking.

Wow. When I saw the headline, I was worried that the bars had closed. Just like the swallows to Capistrano, the waters will return to Venezia.

Lol, Mait, you were whom I thought of when I saw this titkle.
Thanks nnolen

Here's a story in English:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/01/13/venice.reut/