Riding the 'Underwater'.(Venice mayor plans subway for city)(Brief Article)

Venice has long been in trouble. Its population is shrinking. Its historic buildings are crumbling. The whole city is sinking slowly into the sea. You could say the town is going down the tube, figuratively speaking. And soon that may be true literally, as well.

You see, if Mayor Paolo Costa has his way--and most likely he will-- Venice will soon have a subway. That might seem odd in a place where the major streets are filled with water. But municipal planners and tourism officials say that's the only way to go, at least if Venice wants to preserve its cultural integrity and charm. Its famed canals are congested with gondolas, water buses and taxi-boat traffic, they argue, lauding the capabilities of the proposed new underground to move as many as 2,000 tourists an hour around the city. Construction is set to begin within the year, Costa tells NEWSWEEK: "This is all part of a plan to save Venice."

Actually, Venetians have always devised clever ways of keeping out the waters that inundate their squares and palazzos for four months of every year. There's the Moses Project, getting started this spring, which will tame the tides of its lagoon with floodgates. There's a plan to elevate portions of the city by as much as 10 centimeters, the better to keep feet dry. And slowly, many canals are being drained and sewage systems repaired. All this, say city planners, will allow Venice to build a subway without cutting ...