Underground and underwater in Venice's flooded crypt
Historic Saint Mark's Basilica was flooded for the sixth time in 1,200 years on Wednesday (November 13) after the second highest tide ever recorded swept through Venice overnight.
Venice's mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the basilica, the most famous landmark of the lagoon city, had suffered "grave damage" but no details were available on the state of its mainly Byzantine interior, famous for its rich mosaics.
Brugnaro said he would declare a disaster zone and ask the government to call a state of emergency, which would allow funds to be freed to address the damage.
The Basilica's administrator said the basilica had aged 20 years in a single day when it was flooded last year.
A flood barrier was designed in 1984 to protect Venice from the kind of high tides that hit the city, but the multi-billion euro project, known as Mose, has been plagued by corruption scandals and is still not operative.
In the morning the tide level fell to 145 cm but was expected to rise back to 160 cm during the day.
