Tide in Venice reaches highest level in half a century

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Tide in Venice reaches highest level in half a century | The tide in Venice rose to 1.87 metres at 10.50pm last night, its highest level since 1966 and the second highest ever recorded. The flooding is the result of heavy rainfall exacerbated by high winds, and a second surge is expected today. Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, believes that the floods are causing serious damage to Venetian landmarks, including the Basilica of San Marco which suffered £1.9m of damage when it was last flooded in November 2018. Brugnaro has announced his intention to declare a state of emergency. 

Hurley Building in Boston may be demolished | Massachusetts officials announced last week that the Charles F. Hurley Building, a government building in the Brutalist style designed by Paul Rudolph in the 1960s, will be turned over to private developers and possibly demolished. The building houses a mural by artist Constantino Nivola. Officials say that the building, which was left incomplete and currently serves as the Government Service Center for Boston, is unfit for its present use and would cost more than $200m to repair.

Connaissance des Arts bids for stake in two French fairs | The organisers of the fairs Fine Arts Paris and Salon du Dessin announced yesterday that they have been approached by the magazine Connaissance des Arts for a 40-49 per cent stake in their company, and that they have begun negotiations. The magazine is owned by media group Les Echos-Le Parisien, a subsidiary of LVMH; the deal would see Fine Arts Paris move to the city’s Dôme des Invalides, where it would host 20 t0 25 more exhibitors than it does at present. Each of the fairs’ eight founding partners would retain their equal shares.