Venice will "almost certainly" be uninhabitable by 2100 because of rising water levels and flooding, a meeting of international scientists in Cambridge, England, was warned.

The famed Italian city, built on 118 sea islets and joined by 400 bridges, may not be around in another 100 years.

For Venice, which rests on millions of wooden piles pounded into marshy ground, is gradually sinking into the water.

A four-day conference organised by the Venice in Peril Fund to find a way to rescue the city was told that its population has fallen from 150,000 in the 1950s to 58,000 today.

After spending a morning on the river Cam in gondolas and punts, more than 100 scientists started their meeting which is due to hear from two British about their knowledge of the Thames Barrier.

The conference comes at a time when St Mark's Square in Venice is being flooded about 100 times each year, compared with 10 times in 1900.

The city is 23 centimetres further under water than it was 100 years ago. Rising water levels in the lagoon account for 10cm of the total and 13cm come from subsidence.

Nicky Baly, the development director of Venice in Peril, founded after the 1966 Venice flood by a former British ambassador to Italy, said: "We can keep on paying to restore Venetian buildings, but what if the city is no longer there for our grandchildren? If Venice is to continue to survive, solutions are required, fast."

The charity, which has donated millions to the upkeep of buildings, warned that Venice remains as "undefended" as it was in 1966 when the entire city was flooded.

- September 15, 2003