The Top Travel Destinations with Kevin Flanagan
Jul 28, 2026 · 13 min · 9 segments
Venice should not exist — yet thirteen centuries on, it's still fighting the sea. In this episode, Kevin tells the story of MOSE, the colossal, controversial and staggeringly expensive flood barrier…
And there, from the grill in the drain, right in front of the cathedral, the water started bubbling up.
rising up through the drains, up through into the square itself, as if the sea were underneath the city, which of course it is.
The orchestras were still playing in Florians, the pigeons simply moved to a higher table, and the most beautiful square in Europe slowly turned into a mirror.
That's the Aqua Alta, the high water, and the Venetians have lived with it for 1500 years.
This episode is about the machine built to save Venice and why Venice is a warning for every coastal city on Earth.
And there, from the grill in the drain, right in front of the cathedral, the water started bubbling up.
rising up through the drains, up through into the square itself, as if the sea were underneath the city, which of course it is.
The orchestras were still playing in Florians, the pigeons simply moved to a higher table, and the most beautiful square in Europe slowly turned into a mirror.
That's the Aqua Alta, the high water, and the Venetians have lived with it for 1500 years.
This episode is about the machine built to save Venice and why Venice is a warning for every coastal city on Earth.
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