Flood-hit Venice's dwindling population faces mounting woes

One of only four oar makers for Venice's famed gondoliers, Paolo Brandolisio wades through his ground-floor workshop for the third time in a week of record-breaking floods, despairing of any help from national or local institutions.

"If these phenomena continue to repeat themselves, you have to think about how to defend yourself, he says. Because the defenses that the politicians have made don't seem to be nearly enough. You have to think of yourself," he repeats.

Venetians are fed up with what they see as inadequate responses to the city's mounting problems: record-breaking flooding, environmental and safety threats from cruise ship traffic and the burden on services from over-tourism.

They feel largely left to their own devices, with ever-fewer Venetians living in the historic part of the city to defend its interests and keep it from becoming mainly a tourist domain.

The historic flooding this week marked by three floods over 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) and the highest in 53 years at 1.87 meters (6 feet, 1 inch) has sharpened calls to create an administration that recognizes the uniqueness of Venice, for both its concentration of treasures and its increasing vulnerability.

Flood damage has been estimated at hundreds of millions of euros (dollars), but the true scope will only become clear with time.

Architectural masterpieces like St. Mark's Cathedral still need to be fully inspected and damaged manuscripts from the Music Conservatory library treated by experts not to mention the personal losses suffered by thousands of residents and businesses.

"I feel ashamed," said Fabio Moretti, the president of Venice's historic Academy of Fine Arts that was once presided over by Tiepolo and Canova.

"These places are left in our custody. They don't belong to us. They belong to humanity. It is a heritage that needs to be preserved."
"I will have to dry everything. Lots of things fell into the water, so I need to clean all the tools that can get rusty. I need to take care of wood that got wet, which I can't use because it cannot be glued."