Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice flooded with nearly three feet of water last week, damaging part of the 1,000-year-old marble mosaic floor inside.The basilica “aged 20 years in one day,” St. Mark’s procurator Carlo Tesserin said.
Floodwaters kept parts of the Madonna Nicopeia chapel’s intricately designed floor under three feet of water for 16 hours. The chapel, located in the cathedral’s left transept, contains a 9th-century Byzantine icon of Mary.The baptistry and the Zen Chapel, were completely flooded. The basilica’s bronze doors and columns also sustained damage. In St. Mark’s Basilica’s 926-year history, there have been only five floods as severe. The high watermark in Venice reached over 5 feet on Monday with an “acqua alta,” or high tide, covering 75 percent of the city.