The Grand Canal, Venice (Italy). Photo taken from Rialto Bridge.

Exactly one year ago Rob and I were in Venice, Italy. We hadn’t planned the trip to Italy around Valentine’s Day specifically, it just worked out that we were in one of the most beautiful cities in the world on a day traditionally associated with ‘love’. Although the 14th of February is supposed to be a day for showing your love for that special person in your life, I found that I instead fell in love with a city slowly sinking below rising sea levels. From the over-the-top glamour of Basilica di San Marco to the understated grace of Santa Maria della Salute, to the hidden courtyards filled with children celebrating Carnivale with handfuls of confetti, to the acqua alta (’high water’ - the term used to describe the tidal rise of water that fills St Mark’s Square), I fell head over heels for a place which in the nineteenth century was described by architects as being in a state of disrepair.

In fact, few people realise it, but if it wasn’t for John Ruskin (a brilliant nineteenth century philosopher and architectural theorist who wrote ‘The Stones of Venice’) and the subsequent impact his work had on William Morris (founder of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the forerunner of the National Trust in the UK), St Mark’s Square and Basilica di San Marco may not be standing today, or at the very least would not look as we expect them to. Venice had fallen on hard times and was not as rich as it once had been, and the Industrial Revolution’s polluted air had caused huge damage to the delicate marble and gold leaf exteriors of many buildings in Europe - not least the buildings of St Mark’s Square. The Italian government had plans to completely refurbish the exterior of the buildings lining St Mark’s Square and to completely overhaul the Basilica, and the plans were only halted because of public outrage led by Ruskin and Morris (and several national governments) and because of a lack of funding. How lucky we are that these forward thinkers stepped in when they did, else we would not today still be marvelling over the incredible beauty that is Venice.

The front of Basilica di San Marco. Taken from St Mark’s Square.