Flooding in Venice

In the bus to Piazzale Roma I saw people carrying plastic bags with rubber boots. I decided to buy a pair as soon as I arrived. They were not cheap.

But necessary they were. The water started immediately. Walking through water is slow, and everything in Venice seems to be in some kind of slow motion at the moment. Tourists wonder: Do I dare to take this street? Venetians are trying to keep the water out of their houses and shops, with little to no success.

The difference between canal and walkway is gone. The best is to just accept that you will get wet. You will get wet if you don’t have boots. You will get wet if your boots do not reach over your knees. Even Banksy’s graffiti of a migrant is getting wet.

Life goes on in Venice. You can still buy fish on the Campo Santa Margherita, and some bars and shops are open even though there is about 20 cm water inside. The question is whether flooding like this will be a normal part of life in Venice…

Author: johannekekroesbergen

I am an anthropologist of religion and photographer, currently living in Pretoria, South Africa. I wrote my PhD-thesis on narratives about Satanism in Zambia. Currently I am preparing a new research project that uses photography as an ethnographic method. In my free time, I love hiking, safaris and enjoying nature through photography. View all posts by johannekekroesbergen