Acqua alta

[owlfish]

There was acqua alta today, literally "high water", peaking at 110 cm above sea level, which meant the low-lying parts of Venice flood. The pull of the nearly-full moon was augmented by a warm sirocco blowing in. Here are four potted plants at the Camerlenghi, normally a usable campo on the edge of the Grand Canal, near the Rialto.

Comments

being prepared

[siusaidh.livejournal.com]

and though you had planned to pack fresh cranberries in your bags, i wonder if you tossed in a pair of wellies?

Re: being prepared

[owlfish]

No, lots spare here. I was standing ankle-deep in water when I took the photo.

[gillo]

Amazing. We were in Venice three weeks ago and saw all the table-things waiting to act as footpaths during acqua alta, but there was a significant drop from the edge of the campi to the Canal.

Just the sight of your pics makes me want to go straight back there!

[owlfish]

They're called passarelle. I have some good photos from yesterday of them crowded around S. Marco, with the rest of the piazza practically deserted. Acqua alta wasn't quite so high today, even with full moon, without the sirocco - plus it was raining at high tide, so I didn't bother going out again today. (And there was the small matter of having lots of grading to do....)

Cheap, short flights! And it's a much quieter city in winter, as long as you avoid carnevale and Christmas. (You can buy your wellies here if you don't have them to pack.)

[gillo]

Cheap, short flights!

Yup - that's how we did it in half term - flight from East Midlands Airport.

Do the wellies appear as if by magic on the masks-and-pashminas-and-tourist-t-shirts stalls like the umbrellas do when it's raining? Venice might be a tourist trap but you have to hand it to them for salesmanship!

[owlfish]

Yes and no. There are loads of shoe shops in town, most of which sells wellies. Most souvenir places won't per se, although neon-colored robust plastic bags which come with ties for securing around ones knees are becoming more common and are the product most marketed for the tourists among foot-protectors. Wellies are really cheap here though because they're so necessary and so widely available. Still, most acqua alta isn't really all that high and can be avoided. S. Marco is the lowest part of the city though, so if it's going to flood anywhere, it'll flood there.