Organizers of the Venice carnival awoke to a very flooded lagoon city when an out of season high water level washed over canal walls and flooded St. Mark's square.

Tourists were forced, once again, to walk along raised wooden walkways, wheeling their luggage in order not to get their feet wet.

Cafe chairs sat forlornly in a piazza turned into a lake.

The unusually high water level caught everyone off their guard. Local preparations have been hampered as Venice prepares for hundreds of thousands of visitors to arrive to take part in carnival festivities that begin on Saturday and run through to February.

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