In November and December 2019, a series of extreme hide tides (acque alte), combined with extreme strong winds and torrential rain, caused heartbreaking damage to the city of Venice. Save Venice was born in response to the floods of 1966, the worst in Venice’s history, and the 2019 floods served as a stark reminder of the ongoing and urgent need to protect Venice’s irreplaceable artistic heritage.

Within days of the disaster, Save Venice launched the Immediate Response Fund (IRF) for artistic and cultural heritage recovery and preventative conservation, proudly partnering with the Embassy of Italy in Washington D.C. on the campaign #AmericaLovesVenice raising crucial dollars for the fund.

Read the full Press Release

Save Venice moved quickly to support efforts to mitigate the effects of corrosive saltwater and deposits in the churches, museums, and comparable public buildings that experienced the tidal flooding. Projects also included emergency conservation treatment for paintings, stonework, floors, wooden furnishings, and books and archival documents, as well as preventative conservation to minimalize damage from future extreme weather conditions, such as floods, heavy rain, and strong wind.

The ongoing impact of Save Venice’s swift actions spans across the city and to-date have benefitted more than 21 sites including:

12 Churches
Santa Maria Assunta on the Island of Torcello
Santa Maria dei Carmini
Santa Maria del Giglio
Santa Maria dei Miracoli
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Santi Apostoli
Santi Maria e Donato on the Island of Murano
San Moisè
San Pantalon
San Polo
San Sebastiano
San Stae

2 Museums
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti at the Ca’ d’Oro
Jewish Museum in the Ghetto Ebraico di Venezia

2 Confraternities (scuole)
Scuola Dalmata di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni
Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista

4 Cultural and Educational Institutions
Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello in Palazzo Pisani
Fondazione Giorgio Cini
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
Teatro La Fenice

1 Cemetery
Jewish Cemetery on the Lido

By giving to the fund, your contribution will allow Save Venice to continue these vital efforts. Thank you for being an advocate and supporter for this remarkable city. We will continue to do what our track record proves we do best: protect Venice’s irreplaceable artistic heritage.
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What is the difference between acqua alta and other types of flooding?

Venice is located on the sea and the water level in the city’s canals is determined by the sea tide level. The city usually experiences two high tides and two low tides in each 24-hour period.

Acqua alta occurs when the predicted tide level is above the elevation of the city’s streets and ground floors, causing temporary tidal flooding in some areas. Acqua alta is temporary and usually lasts only a few hours before the water completely recedes. Events can range from minor, with just a few centimeters of water covering low-lying areas of the city, such as Piazza San Marco, to exceptional, with several feet of water flooding most of the city’s streets and inundating the ground floors of buildings throughout Venice.

Venetians are resilient and are equipped to deal with routine/seasonal acqua alta. When it occurs, they usually put on their boots and go about their business as normal. Raised walkways are set up around the city to allow citizens and visitors alike to walk the streets, every corner store sells high water boots, and only very rarely is a vaporetto re-routed or an event cancelled.

On October 3, 2020, nearly a year after the devastating 2019 flood, Venice’s MOSE flood barrier system was raised from the sea floor for the first time, temporarily sealing off the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea during an instance of acqua alta. This engineering project, designed to protect the city and the lagoon from flooding, consists of 78 mobile metal barriers installed at the bottom of the lagoon’s three inlets—Lido, Malamocco, and Chioggia—where tides from the sea flow into Venice. Since its initial activation, MOSE has been deployed dozens of times each year, effectively shielding the city from numerous potential disasters.

For more information, visit:

Comune di Venezia

MOSE Venezia

Amy Gross, Executive Director | amy@savevenice.org

Melissa Conn, Director, Venice office | melissa@savevenice.org

NPR: Venice Hit By A Record 3rd High Tide