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Venice, after the flooding

Since Venice flooded due to an exceptionally high tide on Monday (Dec. 1), the city has dried out a bit — and now seeks to dispel tourist fears about visiting the famed Italian city of canals.

The Bauer Hotel, just steps from low-point St. Mark’s Square, says it received many cancelations even though it was unscathed because it is protected by metal barriers that blocked the water, according to the Associated Press. (The hotel’s owner, Francesca Bortolotto Possati, above, posed today in front of those barriers.)

The mayor of Venice issued a statement to clear up misunderstandings with “English-speaking newspapers and websites” that he says misunderstood comments he made during the flooding.

“It is therefore absolutely untrue I suggested not to come to Venice and, worst of all, I definitely did not want to make the situation even more dramatic,” Mayor Massimo Cacciari said in a statement.

— Mary Forgione, L.A. Times staff writer

[Photo: Alberto Pellaschiar / Associated Press]

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 4:05 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under Europe, Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

2 Comments on “Venice, after the flooding”

Jessica Says:
December 4th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I know many people living in Venice and things are going just fine. We had clients in town that did walking tours on foot both Wednesday and Thursday without any issue at all. Definitely those with plans should not cancel their trips!
Jorge Says:
December 5th, 2008 at 5:34 am
I live on the mainland. Was thinking of going to Venice tomorrow (Saturday) with my girlfriend who is over for the weekend? Has the flooding subsided?