Libreria Acqua Alta — whose name translates loosely as "High Tide Library" — is a beloved and eccentric bookshop tucked along one of Venice's narrow canals in the Castello neighborhood. The shop is famous for its ingenious solution to Venice's chronic acqua alta flooding: books, maps, and prints are stored in bathtubs, buckets, and even a full-sized gondola to keep them above the waterline when the lagoon rises. Visitors wander through towering, labyrinthine stacks of secondhand and antique volumes in an atmosphere that feels equal parts literary sanctuary and organized chaos. Gates came here not primarily as a bookshop browser, but to meet historian Alessandro Trabucco and review a key forensic document bearing on one of Christendom's most debated relics — the bones of Saint Nicholas.
According to legend, Venetian sailors arrived in Myra, Turkey, and reportedly took bone fragments believed to be the remaining relics of Saint Nicholas, bringing them back to Venice — approximately 13 years after sailors from Bari had already claimed the primary remains.
Dr. Luigi Martino is believed to have conducted an initial scientific study of the Saint Nicholas relics held in Bari, establishing a baseline for later comparative analysis.
Dr. Luigi Martino examined the bone fragments held in Venice, producing a formal report assessing their nature and whether they might complement the Bari remains — reportedly the only known scientific study of the Venice fragments.
Gates visited Libreria Acqua Alta during Expedition Unknown Season 15, Episode 6, consulting with historian Alessandro Trabucco to review Dr. Martino's 1992 report on the Venice bone fragments.
Historian Alessandro Trabucco, whom Gates met on camera at the bookshop, served as the key expert guide through the documentary trail surrounding the Venice bone fragments. Trabucco explained that the Venetian relics are traditionally believed to have been taken from Myra, in present-day Turkey, around the year 1100 — making them arrivals roughly 13 years after the sailors from Bari had already claimed the primary remains. According to local legend, the Venetians confronted the monks guarding the leftover fragments and took them by force, though Trabucco's framing on camera treats this as tradition rather than established fact.
The central forensic document at the heart of Gates' consultation is Dr. Luigi Martino's 1992 report — produced by the same researcher who is said to have studied the Bari bones in the 1950s. That the same expert examined both sets of remains is significant for any comparative analysis: Martino would have been positioned to assess whether the Venice fragments and the Bari remains might be compatible with a single skeleton. The reportedly small and fragmentary nature of the Venice bones is consistent with the idea that they represent what was left in a crypt already partially emptied — but that narrative logic, while plausible, is not the same as scientific proof.
Within mainstream historical and religious scholarship, the provenance of Saint Nicholas relics is a genuinely contested question. Multiple locations across Europe claim portions of his remains, and the authentication of medieval relics is complicated by centuries of fragmentation, translation, and veneration. The episode does not claim to settle that debate — it simply presents Martino's comparative findings as a suggestive data point worth examining, and Gates' tone throughout is one of open-minded inquiry rather than triumphant discovery.
What Gates' episode contributed was bringing Martino's 1992 report to a general audience and framing the Venice fragments within the broader relics investigation that also took him to Bari. The Libreria Acqua Alta functions here as more than a colorful backdrop: it embodies the layered, sometimes waterlogged nature of Venice's relationship with history — where the past is carefully preserved even when the waters keep rising.
The shop's name, 'Acqua Alta,' refers to Venice's periodic high-tide flooding events — a phenomenon the city has managed for centuries and that the bookshop has turned into a signature feature.
According to the episode, Dr. Luigi Martino is believed to have studied both the Bari relics in the 1950s and the Venice bone fragments in 1992 — making him the key scientific link between the two sets of remains.
The Venice relics, as described on camera, consist of notably small fragments — consistent, in theory, with being the remnants left in a crypt already raided by Bari sailors roughly 13 years earlier.
Among the shop's flood-proofing measures is a full-sized gondola used to store books — making it arguably one of the few libraries in the world where the shelving doubles as a traditional Venetian vessel.
Libreria Acqua Alta is generally accessible to the public as a working bookshop in Venice's Castello district, and visitors are welcome to browse its famously eccentric interior at no charge. The shop is a popular stop on many Venice itineraries, so expect crowds, especially during peak tourist seasons. Check local advisories regarding Venice's acqua alta flooding conditions before visiting, as high water can affect access to parts of the city.
The shop is located within Venice itself; the nearest mainland city is Mestre, approximately 10 kilometers away.
Spring (April–May) and early autumn (September–October) tend to offer milder weather and somewhat smaller crowds than the peak summer months. Acqua alta events are most frequent in autumn and winter, which can add atmosphere but may complicate logistics.
Church of San Nicolò al Lido, Venice
The Church of San Nicolò al Lido is the Venetian institution traditionally associated with the Saint Nicholas relics that Gates investigated in the same episode, making it the direct companion site to the Libreria Acqua Alta consultation.
St. Mark's Cathedral
St. Mark's Cathedral is one of Venice's most significant religious landmarks and appears in Gates' broader investigations into sacred relics and medieval Christian history, connecting thematically to the Saint Nicholas inquiry.
Cloister of St. Apollonia, Venice
The Cloister of St. Apollonia is another Venetian site in the Gates database, situated in the same city and potentially visited during the same Venice-based investigation sequence.