Photographer Spends Day In Flooded Venice, Captures How Surreal It Looks (19 Pics)

If you’ve ever visited Venice, you probably know how difficult it can be to get around. It’s almost like a maze with its numerous canals and endless narrow streets, many of which turning out to be dead ends. Now try imagining all of this on hard mode with water all the way up to your knees. It may sound crazy but that’s actually the current situation of the city.

Photographer Natalia Elena Massi recently visited flooded Venice and took some amazing photos

“I love Venice, and I visit it whenever I can. This time, I decided to go and photograph the city with the hope of finding it beautiful anyway,” said Natalia.

Natalia lives about 100 km (62 mi) away from the city and wanted to see it with her own eyes

The photographer was curious to understand how it’s possible to live with the constant concern of being flooded

Natalia spent the whole day there and said her biggest challenge was simply getting around

“I hadn’t thought about how difficult it could be,” said Natalia. “Imagine walking for hours with water well above your knees”

The photographer arrived wearing rain boots that only reached her knee and quickly realized they wouldn’t be enough. She purchased some high galoshes to protect herself from all the water but they got pierced in just half an hour. After a while of struggling with the leaky boots, Natalia decided to ditch them completely as she was already wet anyway.

“I worked in manual mode, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance,” said Natalia.

It was hard work photographing the city and Natalia had to constantly tinker with the light settings

“I have met incredible people, proud and courageous men who were not defeated by the flood. Even though most shops were closed, the few that were open were happily letting in people just to protect them from the weather,” said the photographer. “Some of them were preparing to re-open, others were … pumping out water and keeping the growing tide under control. Many men remained at the entrance to constantly check the tide level. They were expecting 160 centimeters (5 feet 2 inches) and everyone was alerted.”

Natalia said the atmosphere was surreal and she experienced silence she had never before seen in Venice. “The most interesting part of the journey was being able to see the majesty of the city and how its beauty was amplified by all that water,” said the photographer.

“When I arrived at Piazza San Marco, it was closed to the public, and the water was really very high. The wind blew strongly and loudly but the view in front of me was incredible – this huge empty space, filled with water was so solemn and great that it didn’t seem real,” said Natalia. She added that even in tragedy, she found Venice more beautiful than ever. “The water that threatened it made it even more fascinating,” concluded the photographer.

People loved Natalie’s photos