An estimated 30,000 people, undeterred by the high-water forecast, amassed to joyfully herald in the New Year yesterday evening as the ankle-deep tide washed over Piazza San Marco. Half of the revellers came from the mainland, the Comune surmised; the other half were locals and in-town lodgers. From the photos it looks like most donned rubber or plastic boots or even garbage bags to ward off wet feet while enjoying the festivities and the spectacular midnight fireworks display.
Here are are the photos from New Year’s Day Gazzettino. Now, don’t you wish you were there?
AP photo credit Luigi Costantini
Fun! I’ve celebrated the New Year in Rome, but perhaps Venice must be next on my list. Fun!
Wow! Now, that’s a New Year’s Eve party! 🙂
We wimped out and stayed indoors for our celebration, but I can’t say that if I had the choice, I’d do without the acqua alta for New Year’s in the Piazza. Of course, no one I know can ever remember acqua alta for either Christmas or New Year’s…ever!
The fireworks are always quite spectacular, I will say… 🙂
I was there! It was more than ankle deep where I stood, maybe about mid-calf. Higher than the tops of my 6 year-old daughter’s boots. It was great fun to be out and about in Venice on NYE, a manageable celebration compared to Times Square in NYC and the like. And the water everywhere made it a fun party, as long as you had boots or something like them to keep your feet dry. A few people took their shoes off and went barefoot. That did not seem like a good idea.