With the Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square, in Venice swamped in seasonal flood waters, a man and a woman decided to go for a swim on Sunday. Water depths measured more than 59 inches (150 cm) around the city on Sunday at high tide, the sixth highest level since records began in 1872. According to a report from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego, the city is sinking some 2 millimeters per year, more than five times faster than previously thought. Walls that could help protect the city from tide waters are under construction but won't be operational before 2014.

Check out the Picture This archive here.