At least 11 people have been killed over two days in Italy as much of the country was hit by heavy rain and high winds.
Many of the deaths were due to falling trees crashing down on cars or passers-by.
The fatalities also included a woman who was buried by mud when a landslide invaded her home near Trento in northern Italy, and a man who was windsurfing in Emilia-Romagna.
The other fatalities occurred in Naples, Liguria, Lazio and Veneto.
The high winds created an exceptional tide in Venice, covering three-quarters of the city for the first time in a decade. Water levels were forecast to hit 41.3in.
“It was the perfect storm during which adverse meteorological conditions contributed to the situation in the sea and winds,” said civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli.
News agency Ansa reported damage to the mosaic floors inside Venice’s famed St Mark’s Basilica, where waters reached 35in. The bronze metal doors and columns also sustained damage.
The wooden floors in the nearly 300-year-old Florian cafe nearby were also seriously damaged.
Rains flooded roads and caused a landslide that forced the temporary closure of the Brenner highway connecting Italy with Austria, while the Adige River running through Verona rose by six feet but did not overflow.
In the capital, Rome, more than 100 trees were felled by high winds, and ports reported damage from the storm, including to moored boats.
Nearly 6,000 firefighters were dispatched to remove debris from roadways across the country.
One firefighter was killed by a tree near Bolzano.
Schools were closed in large areas of the country for two days as a precaution.
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