Geography of Italy

The Marghera Industrial Port in Venice's lagoon was evacuated as a 225 kg World War II-era bomb was defused and set to be exploded in the sea., the French press and DPA reported.

Some 3500 people living in the area were also evacuated.

The movement of ships, trains and buses was temporarily halted, and Venice International Airport stopped all flights for several hours.

As floodwaters in Saint Mark's Square are no longer a novelty, and knowing that, in any case, Venice has a problem as it was built in a lagoon, most of us probably did not understand the severity of the danger posed by this week's flooding of the city that once reigned over much of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Water levels are expected to rise to 150 centimeters in Venice today - a new peak at a critical level of 130 centimeters, TASS reported, citing authorities in the Italian city.

"The water level is expected to reach 150 cm by 11.20 (12.20 Bulgarian time)," a tweet said.

Water levels in Venice rose to 183 centimeters and more than 80% of the city is flooded, TASS reported, citing ANSA. City officials are ready to declare a state of emergency.

San Marco Square is flooded - the water there is over 1 meter. The famous Basilica was also flooded.

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake was registered at 06:31 on Friday in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the southern coast of Italy, the country's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology announced.

A new eruption of the Etna volcano, accompanied by increased seismic activity, has been detected by specialists of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Italy.

Nearly two-week celebrations attract millions of tourists each year.

Among the participants could be seen suits of superheroes or cartoon characters, but also traditional Venetian costumes.

The carnival in the Italian city is also known for the special masks that the participants bring. It was first held in the 11th century in the period before the 40-day fast for Easter.

The Italian Educational Institute presents a series of watercolors by Greek artist Pavlos Habidis, which he painted on commission in the spring of 2015 for a book dedicated to Sicily's Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With a lot of music and light show on 19 January, the southern Italian city of Matera in the Basilica region became an official European capital of culture for 2019 next to Plovdiv, where the ceremony took place on January 12th.

Visitors to Venice will have to pay a new tax to help cover the costs of keeping the tourist-thronged historic city clean and safe, city officials have announced.