Venice's most famous cathedral is calling for urgent funding to save its precious marble and mosaic floor after surging floodwaters did decades of damage in a day.

St Mark’s Basilica, which attracts more than five million visitors a year, was filled with nearly three feet of water at the end of October in some of the worst flooding seen in the Lagoon City since 1872.

Carlo Alberto Tesserin, the basilica’s administrator, or procurator, said the church had “aged 20 years in a day” and estimates initial repairs will cost €2.7 million (£2.5 million).

In a statement released at the weekend, the procurator’s office said the 1000-year-old basilica had already invested some of its own funds to get the restoration of the decorative floor started but appealed for assistance from the national government for more.

“The procurator’s office is ready to spend and has already begun with around €700,000 (£612,000), but St Mark’s procurator’s office is asking for a specific undertaking from the Italian government for the remaining €2 million (£1.7 million) ,” the office said in a statement.