Venice closes St Mark’s Square as floods hit for third time in week

Italian city suffers worst series of high tides since 1872, with an estimated cost of a1bn

Venice has closed St Mark's Square as the city suffered a third major flooding in less than a week, while rain lashed the rest of Italy and warnings were issued in Florence and Pisa.

Venice was hit with an "acqua alta", or high water, of 150cm (5ft) on Sunday, lower than Tuesday's 187cm - the highest level in half a century - but still dangerous.