The books in the gondola might look hokey, but they're in it - and in old sinks and basins - for a reason. When the water rises at the ground floor level (and it will in Venice), the books float.

Most interesting to me, was how the dead print was utilized. Here, stacks of old books - used like bricks with foam for mortar - cover holes in the stone wall.

Stacked outdoors, the pages form near solid wood. In rain(they get a lot of rain), they get wet on the outer edges, they dry, and the core stays solid.

So solid are the stacks, they built an outdoor staircase to look out over the wall on the canal. I did climb the book stairs and look over that wall. Just another canal, but I never got sick of seeing them.