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Dear colleagues, we are sharing with you a report Spyros and I prepared a week after the flood as we received news from all the institutions we visited last June in Venice with the ARLIS/NA study tour. As you may have heard in November, Venice was devastated by flooding. Even though Venetian institutions are prepared for such events, the high tidal wave on November 12th - Acqua Alta - reached 1.87 meters (approx. 6 feet), which caused damage to libraries, archives, and monuments throughout the city. Several ARLIS/NA members have contacted us asking information about the current situation and if there is any way we can help. As co-organizers of the 2019 Study Tour, we contacted our Venetian colleagues to inquire about their needs. The library with most damage was the Querini Stampalia Foundation: 35 linear meters of late 19th century books and 600 linear meters of journals and modern publications were destroyed or damaged. Extensive damages are reported also to the area designed by architect Carlo Scarpa on the foundation's ground floor, as well as in the auditorium, ticket office, and caffè. The entire heating and electrical systems of the building, which were recently renovated, were also seriously damaged. The Querini Stampalia already started a fundraising campaign to face these high expenses, especially for technical equipment. The entire island of San Giorgio was under water and there is lots of damage on the ground floor of the Cini Foundation's Branca Center, where our group was based in June. Several volumes (fortunately duplicates) from the Cini's library were also damaged. The same situation at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory where, unfortunately, several rare books and archival materials need conservation treatment. The Marciana National Library opened on November 19 with very little damage to some oversize map facsimiles. However, many computers as well as their electrical and fire suppression systems had serious damage and need to be repaired. The State Archives of Venice had problems with the electrical system. The Biennale closed its venues in order to remove artworks and installations. Thankfully no damages were registered there or to the institution's library and archives, while limited damage was detected at the Levi Foundation's conference room, where the study tour's symposium was held. No damage was noticed in a number of institutions we visited during the 2019 Study Tour, such as the Museum Correr, the Ca' Foscari University's library, the Orsoni furnace, Ca' Pesaro, and Save Venice. Regarding the various monuments in Venice, authorities say it will be a long process to monitor and offer reports for all of them. The crypt of the iconic Basilica of St. Mark is now cleaned after it was entirely flooded. The Basilica is in one of the lowest parts of Venice and very close to the sea. It seems there are has been damage already spotted in some mosaic pavements and the bases of columns, while the most serious damage is not visible yet. Salt gets crystallized once it enters the walls and threatens bricks, marble, mosaics, frescoes and other structures. Venice's fragile lagoon ecosystem is very much affected by the threat of climate change. Although floods in Venice are common, this was the second highest tide in the city's history, very close to the record of 1.94 meters measured in 1966. Just in the last two decades St. Mark's Basilica has been flooded four times. In addition to that, traffic from enormous cruise ships causes wave motion which drain the canals and damage the surrounding marshes, causing the city to sink. If you wish to help any of these institutions, which ARLIS/NA members on the study tour visited in June, information on how to make donations (in some instances tax-deductible in the US) is provided on their websites. Or do not hesitate to contact us should you need more information. With our best regards, Spyros and Isotta [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Co-organizers of the Venice study tour and IRC members ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~