water rising then the buildings settling. When the city was first started it was because the inhabitants were trying to find a place that wouldn't be attacked and sacked. They chose these off shore marsh islands and built their city. It was when it started to morph into a city that required large buildings that the trouble began. The first large building was a church made out of stone, which sunk into the soft soil. It had been transported over stone by stone from the mainland 7 or 8 miles away. They went to plan B and started to drive pilings into the bedrock. This worked and now those piling have solidified into almost something like petrified rock. What you see as you are motor boating along the canals are the doors that were at 3 or 4 feet above the water. The landing decks where the boats landed, fish cleaning took place and other "backyard types of work" was carried out are now 3 or 4 feet underwater. The problem is that the original foundations and floors were built of marble and above the water and the rest of the building of bricks. The water has now risen high enough that it covers the marble which was impermeable to the salt water and is now up to the bricks. Now the bricks are starting to degrade. It's just a matter of time if something isn't done before the buildings will fail. The up side is that they are talking about various ways to fix the problam. The down side is that they are definitely up against the clock. Interesting and beautiful place to be sure. The amount of history stuffed into that one little city is staggering.