yeah, full of rats and crumbling things. no, this is gorgeous. my gosh. the guy that build this house was the same guy that did the rialto bridge. no kidding. yeah. you were born in this house? i was born here, yes, i remember the big floods inside here. it was all full of water. he remembers november 1966, the most devastating aqua alta of all when the water reached 6 4 above normal and stayed there for two days. it s still known as the long night. and the man in charge of the city s artwork said in 36 hours venice aged a hundred years. and i remember here the water was high like i think the first five steps. the first five steps. everything. so chest-deep water. then you understand why even a lot of people had to move because the ground floor are not livable so much any more. right.
si, si. but you never it s never high enough to close? no. less work. less money. yeah, yeah. while some stay closed during aqua alta, others embrace their low-lying fate as a virtue, and there s no better example than aqua alta, the world s dampest book store. cleanup on aisle six. most book shop owners would see this as a sign from god that they should move their shop, but this is part of your appeal, right? yes. does it ever get old? does it ever get exhausting? yes. it s because we have to put the books up. depends how high it comes.
the guy that build this house was the same guy that did the rialto bridge. no kidding. yeah. you were born in this house? i was born here, yes, i remember the big floods inside here. it was all full of water. he remembers november 1966, the most devastating aqua alta of all when the water reached 6 4 above normal and stayed there for two days. it s still known as the long night. and the man in charge of the city s artwork said in 36 hours venice aged a hundred years. and i remember here the water was high like i think the first five steps. the first five steps. everything. so chest-deep water. then you understand why even a lot of people had to move because the ground floor are not livable so much any more. right. the 66 flood woke the city
for a shock if he walked his sunny neighborhoods on a chilly day like this one. historically, you could have walked through this without stooping, is that years ago? yeah, absolutely. also, they try to put an upper level just to help the people come in, but it was not sufficient. this man is a native venetian with a quick hilarious intellect and a knowledge of the locals-only joints that open early come hell or high water. here s to venice. aqua alta breakfast of champions. ciao, ciao. how many aqua altas have you seen? [ laughter ] do you have webbed feet like a duck?
that siren. [ humming siren ] it is the sound of an approaching aqua alta, high water propelled by moon and wind. you see a full moon brings higher tides, and when the sirocco winds are blowing up the back of the italian boot, adriatic seawater comes rushing through the three inlets of the venice lagoon. it s predictable, so three hours before the liquid lifts comes that haunting alarm. one tone means the water will reach 110 centimeters above normal. two tones, 120 and so on. today it will top 130, 4 3 above normal. higher parts of the city will stay dry, but here in san marco 130 is just enough to render your wellies worthless. i don t know why i bothered to put on the boots. woo, that s cold.