"Venice isn't sinking," notes Co-chair Lita Talarico after her recent trip to scope out new locales for the Masters Workshop in Venice and Rome. Nonetheless, the water rises and floods the city for three months in the Fall.

The phenomenon is called Acqua Alta (High waters in Venice). Famed Piazza San Marco is the first place to flood and the last place to dry. So where do the pigeons go? And how long are the shops closed?

Merchants put the steel barriers on their doors to prevent water from entering their shops. Pedestrians must walk along "tables" of wood to stay dry. But it doesn't stop some of the cafes from remaining open.

"I sat at one cafe on the Zattere where they put a small wooden pallet under my feet and the water kept rolling in," Lita recalls taking off her high rubber boots.