Venice’s Future Caught Between Tourist Crowds and Rising Tides

Two weeks after high tides and fierce winds produced the worst flooding in Venice in more than half a century, sirens sound about 6:30 a.m. to warn the fragile lagoon city’s weary residents that “acqua alta” is arriving again.

Less than two hours later, temporary wooden platforms are in place to allow pedestrians to move through ancient cobble-stone streets. Vendors hawking cheap water-proof boots appear out of nowhere to cater to ill-prepared tourists.

Tourists stand and sit on the elevated walking bridges left in Piazza San Marco following recent floods in Venice.

Photographer: Geraldine Hope Ghelli/Bloomberg

Sergio Boldrin, one of Venice’s most renowned mask makers, is used to the ritual. But the floods aren’t the only sign of decay. The feeling in the city is ...