A man has gone for a swim in St Mark’s Square in Venice, as the beautiful Italian city was hit by the highest tide (Aqua Alta) in 50 years.

Italy has been hit by heavy rainfall over the past days and levels in the lagoon city rose to 190 cm with around 87 percent of the city flooded.
Raised wooden walkways are in position in the piazzas for tourists and locals to use in order to go about their business and keep relatively dry.
“Venice is a very beautiful city, and it becomes a very special place when the water level is high,” said Venetian resident Marco Zamunan. “But apart from the beauty which this phenomenon gives to the city there are also problems,” he added.

Many houses are flooded during the tide that often brings high water levels to the town. Moving around becomes much more complicated with shop deliveries and food supplies difficult to organize.