An expert have warned that Venice's ancient palazzi could collapse due to rising damp and rusting iron rods.
The rods hidden in the brickwork which support the heavy marble are now disintegrating as waters rise, the architect heading a restoration programme at St Mark’s Basilica has said.
Homes in the city sit on top of ancient wooden poles around 25 metres into silt and mud.
To help cope with heavy stone, the builders chose the thinnest possible walls and relied on tie-rods to fix them to floors.
An expert have warned that Venice's ancient palazzi could collapse due to rising damp and rusting iron rods
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However, Mario Piana warns that these rods are now rusting following a rise in water levels as a result of the widening of entrances from the Venice lagoon to the Adriatic.
In 2020, the Mose flood barrier was erected to help keep the water at bay, but the city continues to sink as the clay beneath it compacts.
"This problem can be fixed, but it will cost billions," the architect told The Times.
Piana - who is in charge of maintenance at St Mark’s - explained that dismantle marble altars and soak them in a large bath for four months to extract the impregnated salt following flooding.
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"You cannot do that with brick walls, however," he said.
"The bricks in these palazzi are likes sponges and the saltwater is especially corrosive for the tie-rods."
He also flagged another issue with heating in Venetian palazzi in the 20th century.
"The tie-rods extend from within the buildings to the exterior, meaning they are heated at one end and exposed to the outside cold at the other," he said.
Mario Piana warns that these rods are now rusting following a rise in water levels as a result of the widening of entrances from the Venice lagoon to the Adriatic
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"The contraction in temperature creates condensation, which creeps into the walls, exacerbating the rusting."
The expert added that stainless steel rods would be required to reinforce the centuries-old tie-rods.
"We also washed the bricks to try and get rid of the salt after isolating the lower part of the building. The total cost was about €700,000 and that was for one single, small building," he said.