Violent storms battered Italy, killing at least 11 people. Venice’s St Mark’s Square was inundated and the adjacent basilica had its baptistry totally flooded and its mosaic floors covered by 35 inches (89 cm) of water. ‘The basilica has aged twenty years in just one day, and perhaps I am being overly optimistic about that,’ said the church’s chief administrator. ‘It is becoming ever more difficult for us, and indeed could become impossible for us to repair the damage, especially in an age of climate change.’ Meanwhile, heavy snow in parts of Spain left two mountain hikers missing, and a tornado ravaged Menorca,leaving 38,000 people without power. See