Venice hotel owners offer free boots for floods

Venice hoteliers are urging tourists to enjoy the tourist mecca despite chronic flooding, offering free rubber boots for guests to slosh around the Renaissance city.

"Venetian hoteliers and Mayor Massimo Cacciari reassuretourists who want to come in Venice: Don't worry, there is no danger: high water is a phenomenon that quickly disappears," says an industry website, www.veneziasi.it.

A special 190 euros (250 dollar) a night package includes "free use of rubber boots to walk during the high water," along with a map showing where special platforms are erected along the canal city's streets during the flooding.

Venice has been under water for nearly two weeks, reaching a 22-year high on December 1 at 1.56 meters (5 feet, 2 inches). Thursday and Friday are expected to see highs of up to 1.30 meters.

The lagoon city was flooded 50 times between 1993 and 2002, but by far the worst incident was on November 4, 1966, when it was submerged by 1.94 metres of water amid catastrophic flooding throughout Italy.

Every new flood revives debate over an elaborate project to place hinged panels at the inlets leading into the lagoon.

Cacciari is among critics of the so-called Moses Project, which was launched in 2003 and is not expected to reach completion until 2012.

Under the scheme, 78 steel panels will lie on the seabed until activated when high tide is more than 1.1 metres above normal.

Compressed air will then force the panels to rise up on their hinges, forming a slanting barrier to the incoming tide from the Adriatic Sea.

Another approach under consideration is to raise the city's buildings.

Under Operation "Rialto", piston-supported poles would be placed beneath each structure and gradually lift buildings by up to a metre.





（意大利）文艺复兴之城、"水城"威尼斯近日遭遇洪水侵袭，一些酒店利用水涨之机，打起了促销牌，即住店游客可免费使用酒店提供的雨靴，体验水中漫步威尼斯的乐趣。

据意大利酒店业协会网站（www.venezias.it）称："威尼斯的酒店和市长玛西莫•卡西亚利给想来威尼斯旅游的游客们吃了颗定心丸：别担心，不会有危险：水很快就会退。"

酒店打出的促销广告是：190欧元（250美元）住店一晚，即可"免费使用酒店提供的雨靴"和地图，这张地图可让游客们知道沿街哪些地方有可供"上岸"的平台。

威尼斯的大水已经持续近两周，本月1日的水位达到22年来最高水平，为1.56米（5 英尺2 英寸），本周四和周五预计将达1.3米。

从1993年至2002年，"水城"威尼斯共发过50次洪水。但是迄今为止最严重的一次洪水发生于1966年11月4日，当时意大利全国遭遇特大洪水侵袭，威尼斯的水位则涨到了1.94米。

为了治理水患，威尼斯正在兴建一个防洪工程，拟在威尼斯通往海洋的入海口处建多个活动闸门，而每次发洪水都会引发有关该工程的争议。

现任市长卡西亚利就是这项工程的反对者之一。这项名为"摩西工程"的防洪设施于2003年启动，预计将于2012年建成。

该工程计划在海床上建78个钢板，当水位超出警戒线1.1米以上时，挡板就会被启动。

这些挡板在压缩空气力量的作用下会竖立起来，从而形成一个倾斜的屏障挡住来自亚得利亚海的洪水。

还有一个方案是加高威尼斯全城建筑的高度。

按照这项"Rialto"（里亚托桥，威尼斯最著名的桥）计划，将在建筑物底部置入活塞柱，使建筑物整体增高1米。
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