The Sinking City? - Morphological Tourism

Venice

Venice is a man-made city comprised of about 118 small islands separated by canals.  These islands are connected with bridges of various scales, however, mostly are pedestrian bridges.  Structurally, the islands is quite unique.  Wood piles made of alder trees,  have been driven deep into the sediment below the water passing a soft layer of sand and mud until a hard layer of compressed clay is reached.  These piles are the primary supports holding the buildings of the city above the water.  This method though relatively sturdy, has its draw backs.  In particular, because the city has no true foundation made of earth and is only floating on the water, the city is constantly prone to flooding.  More recently, evidence has been found indicating the city is slowly sinking.  As to why this is happening and if it is true, it is not clear.  A possibility could be the piles themselves are sinking due too a shifting in the hard sediment below.  However, even with no clear answer the subtul signs of sinking are present.  For example, in many old houses, the former staircases used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.  
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice)

This map highlights the different areas in Venice

Checking for evidence of sinking...
I would like to check places around the major waterways to see if
there is any singes of sinking resulting in a change in Venice's shape.

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