Venice is a city on the water. During the 20th century, Venice quickly (up to 5 mm per year) sank into the lagoon. According to scientists, the main prerequisite for this disaster was the industrial water intake from artesian wells and, as a result, the decrease in the aquifer of the earth. After the closure of the wells, the settlement of the town slowed down. But has Venice always been such an island city? Let's take a look at this question...

Plan of Venice, 16th century. I immediately have a question: who forced the inhabitants to build houses and settle on the water? The city stands on stilts, driven into the bottom of the lagoon, they keep houses whose first floors are empty - it is unrealistic to live there because of dampness. What is the motivation that drives people?

The official history says that an urban settlement on the islands of the Venetian lagoon began to be created in the second half of the 6th century. Initially, the center of the settlement was located on the islands of Malamocco and Torcello, but from the 8th century it began to move to its present position. In the 7th century, on the initiative of Byzantium, to which they formally belonged, the islands were united under the rule of a single ruler - the Doge.

Absolutely everyone has heard about Venice and imagines it like this:

Instead of land streets and roads - canals

But few people watched this territory from a height in the Google Earth program. And it reveals some very interesting details. This post will deal not only with the description and mysteries of the city itself, but with its surroundings (lagoons and coasts).

Link
I see in this picture a clear coastline of the mainland and continental areas flooded by the sea. This could happen when the level of the Mediterranean Sea was raised (Gibraltar breached, the Atlantic Ocean filled with water) or this part of the continental land was lowered. Or maybe much more complex processes with derivatives of these factors.

To the south of the island city, riverbeds that have gone under water are visible. The whole lagoon is shallow, I think, almost like the depths of the Gulf of Finland. And here you can even draw some analogy with Peter.

Fairway for small craft

Under water, even flooded canals or roads are visible. But I think it's the first. Canals and rivers in ancient times were the main transport arteries.

Here, in shallow water, one can see either ancient fields, or the foundations of fences. Link

Link . From the side of the open sea, an underwater channel (dredging) was dug to each breakwater, and all breakwaters (and piers in one) are connected into a single system. Just as wide, but not of such depth, there is a channel on the inside from the side, from the side of the lagoon.

These are the breakwaters

The canal connecting the piers is now apparently not in use, because. it rests against a modern port facility and has no access to the sea.

View from above

In the lagoon, where it is very shallow, there are lighthouses on wooden piles.

The presence of algae in some parts of the lagoon indicates a very shallow depth. 45° 17" 42.64" N 12° 16" 19.46" E

Shallow water. 45° 30" 12.45" N 12° 21" 30.00" E

I have only one association - these are islands, remnants of flooded territories

The island city of Venice from above

From a height, it all looks like the remains of land during a flood

Road and rail links to the city

From the side of the mainland, here are such "backwaters". Maybe they breed fish here, I don’t know for sure, but it looks creative. 45° 20" 51.16" N 12° 9" 47.47" E

In part of the mainland line, there are even straight channels:

Link

45° 23" 58.33" N 12° 12" 53.05" E

There are many such small islands in the lagoon. 45° 28" 17.03" N 12° 20" 38.52" E

Coordinates: 45° 23" 1.81" N 12° 17" 10.10" E. On one of the islands of the lagoon, paving stones are found. Apparently, in the past the island was inhabited and there were buildings on it.

There are many such abandoned islands here. 45° 28" 4.80" N 12° 20" 44.40" E

There is even a star fortress on the mainland:

Link . Fort Marghera

Remains of another "star". Link

When viewing the city, the thought comes that the streets are simply flooded. These are not channels. The first floors, and partially the second - remained under water.

Central, widest channel (flooded avenue)

To move on foot, many bridges were built from house to house.

To not write, but it would be stupid to build on the water. Piles were used. Often from Siberian larch, which indicates close ties with Siberia, which is strange. To hammer piles at that time (yes, even now) is not a cheap necessity, especially to hammer into the bottom, if not deep, but the sea.

After long and heavy rains, Venice drowns, sometimes the water rises for a whole meter

After viewing and analyzing all this photographic material and images from Google maps, I came to the following conclusion: all this territory was dry land in historical times, there were settlements, fields, there was Venice, but not like a city on the water, but a maximum city near the coast rivers. After what happened (whether it was a slow process or spontaneous and catastrophic - it is not known), the inhabitants did not leave the city, having moved somewhere drier, but adapted to new conditions, did not leave their city.
The fact that the city stood on the river, I think, even this photo can say:

A fairway capable of passing a large ship with a decent displacement.

In the first part of the video, you can see that in the area of ​​the drained canal-street, the houses stand on foundations, not on piles. So - Venice, originally an island. Only then something was completed, repaired with the help of piles.

“O Venice, the city of lovers or the “fabulous city”!

This is how I imagined this city since childhood.

The first time I came here in early spring and this city immediately fell in love with me. I walked around Venice and, like my fellow countryman Joseph Brodsky, wondered why I feel at home here? “Is it the smell of dead algae, or something else?” I have collected several of his quotes from the poet in a post. Brodsky's "Embankment of the Incurable" is worth reading before the trip.

Of course, if you come to Venice at the height of the tourist season and for one day, you can easily get into a traffic jam of tourists. Making your way through the crowd to the famous Venetian sights, it's hard to fall in love with this city.

However, our second trip was exactly like that. The second trip to Venice was a day trip, during one of our great trip across Italy. We visited this city because we wanted to show it to our daughter. About this trip next post -

Despite the crowds, we liked Venice and decided to visit it again. And for the third time the city opened up to us from a completely different side.

Since this was our third trip to Venice, I already wanted to see all those places that ordinary one-day tourists do not reach. First of all, these are the islands:. We finally visited the largest art galleries in Venice: and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. And plunged into the life of the townspeople, renting an apartment in the area of ​​the old Ghetto.

Architecture of Venice

At first, Byzantium ruled Venice, it owned most of Italy, and culturally at the beginning of the Middle Ages it was not equal. Fine examples of the Byzantine style in Venice are: the Cathedral of St. Mark and the temples of the island of Torcello.

With the decline of Byzantium (in which the Venetians played an important role), the republic becomes more and more independent and strong. As a result, the Venetians developed their own style in architecture, the so-called. Examples of the Venetian style are the former palaces of the nobility - the palazzo.

We went to a concert in one of the Venetian churches. They played the most famous work written by the Venetian - The Seasons. And there I realized that the winter of Antonio Vivaldi is a Venetian winter, with its unpredictable weather, magnificent carnival and floods.

Summary - what to see in Venice?

1. 1. There are dishes invented in Venice - for example, carpaccio. Venice is famous for its fish market and seafood.
   2. To drink - Bellini cocktail, coffee in a silver mug at the Cafe Florian.
   3. View -, Rialto Bridge and any palace on the Grand Canal,
   4. Nature - ride.
   5. Excursion - go 40 km. from Venice to
   6. Read before the trip - Joseph Brodsky "Embankment of the incurable."
   7. To watch a movie. Filmed about Venice great amount films, both historical and contemporary, from The Honest Courtesan to The Tourist. And how beautifully the palace in Venice goes under water in the Casino Royale.

1. Listen to music - of course, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
2. Bring from Venice - carnival masks, Murano glass.

Historical sights of Venice on the map

History of the founding of Venice

According to legend, Venice was founded on March 25, 421 AD. e. the inhabitants of the region fleeing from the Goths on the deserted islands of the swampy coast. The settlement of the islands continued during the decline of the Western Roman Empire.

The inhabitants of the Venetian lagoon were engaged in fishing, salt mining and shipping.

The cities of the lagoon until 751 were under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine administration, headed by the exarch of Ravenna. In 751, Ravenna was conquered by the Lombards and ceased to exist as main city Western Roman Empire. However, in fact, Venice is ruled by a doge, elected by the townspeople for life.

In 726, in response to an imperial iconoclastic edict, the Venetians elected as their dux (doge) a local resident (not a Byzantine) named Orso. After the conflict is resolved, Orso submits to the exarch and the emperor confirms him in office. From that time on, representatives of the local nobility were elected doge, and Byzantium formally approved them. Byzantium needed allies to fight pirates, and Venice already had an impressive fleet in the 6th century. Venice received its first trading privileges back in 568 in gratitude for its help in the war against the Ostrogoths.

Venice becomes an intermediary between the west and the east when, in 1095, Emperor Henry IV grants it additional privileges forbidding the Franks to travel by sea further than Venice. Now foreign merchants are forced to hand over their goods to the Venetians in the Rialto area.

A strong fleet, which is successfully fighting piracy in the Mediterranean, becomes the main arguments of Venice. The symbol of the power of Venice becomes arsenal (4) founded in 1104.

Byzantium begins to get fed up with Venice's independence and the fact that money is flowing out of the country to Venetian merchants. Byzantium draws closer to the Genoese, and in 1171 Emperor Manuel orders all Venetian merchants to be expelled from Byzantium and confiscates their property. From this moment begins the confrontation between Venice and Byzantium.

Venice and the Fourth Crusade

Doge Dandolo pays the crusaders for their campaign, but in exchange he asks for one favor - to make a stop in Zara - the rebellious province of Venice and in Constantinople.

In the spring of 1203, the crusaders moved towards Constantinople. After numerous battles, the Byzantines were defeated, and on July 17 the city was taken. This was followed by a brutal sacking of the city. After that, although Byzantium continued to exist, its role as a superpower passed to others.

As a result of the Division of the Byzantine Empire, Venice acquired land and became a real colonial medieval empire. This is a golden period in the history of Venice.

The property of Byzantium stolen by the Venetians is exhibited in St. Mark's Cathedral (1), and in Museum of Sacred Byzantine Art (3).

In different countries, objects have been preserved that testify to the power of Venice.

View in a larger map

During this period, Genoa becomes the main rival of Venice.

Naval battles between Venice and Genoa unfolded throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, in most cases the victory was given to the Venetians. Venice had the largest naval base, on Arsenale (4) employed more than 16 thousand workers. The victory of Venice at Chioggia over Genoa in 1380 put an end to this confrontation. From now on, Venice is a full-fledged mistress of the sea.

The popes repeatedly tried to influence the politics of Venice, but Venice always resisted this. In 1508, the Pope succeeded in gathering an alliance against Venice. However, Venice will soon regain its territories and privileges.

At this time, Europe is covered by an epidemic of syphilis, which was supposedly brought from America. In Venice, on the Zettere embankment, a casa was built for patients with the “sexual plague”

The center of state and judicial power is doge's palace (5). He is the embodiment of the power of the Venetian Republic. And the solvency of its individual inhabitants is expressed in the presence of many palaces, in, its best example is the palace Ca d Oro (6)

The rival of Venice becomes the Ottoman Empire. In 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople. In 1571 the Turks conquered Cyprus, and in 1669 Crete. After losing its dominant position in the Mediterranean, Venice is in decline.

Interestingly, the heyday of the famous Venetian carnivals falls precisely on the decline.

Venice is gradually moving to the production of fabrics, printing is growing. In addition to the Turks, in the 17th century, new competitors to Venice appeared in the form of large trading companies: the East India Company in England and the East India Company of the same name in Holland.

At this time, Tiepolo artists worked in Venice, the playwright Carlo Galdoni, the composer Vivaldi. The 18th century in Venice became the century of gambling and sophisticated love pleasures (described with pleasure in Casanova's memoirs).

On May 1, 1797, Napoleon declared war on Venice. Venice became part of Napoleon's empire. Napoleon abolished the Venetian government - the republic ceased to exist.

French rule was short-lived, but the occupying troops sacked Venice. The doge's royal badges and all the lions of St. Mark were destroyed. The quadriga and the treasury of St. Mark were sent to Paris. Churches and monasteries have been ravaged by marauders.

For the first time in more than a thousand years of history, Venice ceased to be an independent state, turning into a province. In 1815, Venice became part of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, which belonged to Austria.

On October 19, 1866, power in Veneto was transferred to a representative of the Italian government, and on October 21, in a referendum on unification with Italy, only 69 people voted "no".

The fashion for sea bathing led to the development of the tourist business in Venice and on the nearby islands. Since 1895, the Venice Biennale has attracted many prominent artists to Venice.

In November 1966, Venice experienced the largest flood in history, the water rose by 2 meters. Great damage was caused by spilled oil from the fuel tanks, which led to the transition of Venice to gas. UNESCO launched an appeal to save Venice, and more than 30 organizations were created to raise funds and coordinate efforts to save Venice.

Today, Venice's economy is based solely on tourism, with about 15 million people visiting Venice every year. Many houses have the status of a monument of architecture.

according to wikipedia

History of Venice begins in the first millennium BC, when the lagoons of the Adriatic Sea appeared on the islands of the lagoon Venetian tribes from whom Venice takes its name. After the Veneti, there were Greeks, Etruscans and Romans in these places, whose main occupation in these places was fishing.

At the beginning of the 5th century AD, due to the constant attacks of the Germanic tribes, many inhabitants of the Roman Empire began to move from the territory of mainland Italy to the lagoons of the Adriatic Sea. So in these lagoons a city was formed, which received the name.

In the middle of the 6th century, Venice formally became part of Byzantine Empire, although in fact the city retained its independence. In 568, a new tribe, the Lombards, invaded the North. This invasion gave rise to a new wave of settlers in Venice.

Doge power in Venice

Beginning in 697, the sole power of a doge elected for life was established in Venice.

In 828, the Venetians managed to kidnap in Alexandria relics of Saint Mark, who, from that moment, was considered the patron saint of the city. During these years, Venice became the main trade intermediary between the countries of Western Europe and Byzantium. The city grew rich, and he had to constantly fend off pirates, Vikings and all kinds of other adventurers. To do this, the city had to build a strong navy. In the 10th century, Venice achieved formal independence from Byzantium and became the main maritime power in the Adriatic Sea.

Participation of Venice in the Crusades

Venice actively supported Crusades. For this, the city received into its possession shopping streets in the cities of the Middle East, which led to the rapid development of trade and a significant strengthening of the Venetian merchant class.

In 1172, the Great Council was established in the city - the legislative body of the republic. The rapid development of commodity-money relations led to the migration to the city of a large part of the rural population from the outskirts of Venice, which later became the bulk of urban artisans.

In 1177, an important political event in the history of Europe took place in the city. Thanks to skilful diplomacy, Venice became the site of reconciliation between Pope Alexander III and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

At the beginning of the 13th century the Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo managed to persuade the crusaders to make the goal of the Fourth Crusade Constantinople, in which Venice had recently lost its trading privileges. Dandolo personally took part in the campaign. He died in Constantinople and was honored to be buried in the church of Hagia Sophia.

For their assistance to the crusaders under capture of Constantinople(Venice provided the crusaders with a fleet), the city received a quarter in Constantinople, Dalmatia, the Peloponnese in Greece, and the Ionian Islands.

Beginning in the 13th century, Venice was at war with its rival and another Italian trading republic, Genoa. Venice was victorious and, according to the Turin Trade Treaty of 1381, Venetian dominance in the eastern Mediterranean was officially recognized by Genoa. Another dangerous rival of Venice in the Adriatic Sea was the city of Dubrovnik, with which Venice did not stop fighting throughout the Middle Ages.

Venice maintained lively relations with the countries of the Middle East, bringing spices, cotton, silks and ivory from there. Oriental goods Venetian merchants were transported to Bruges, from where they dispersed throughout Europe. Through Venice passed the main trade between East and West.

Venice on the map

Oh Venice! How many poems have been written about this amazing and unique city! Even her name conveys a beautiful poetic image of serenity. But lately, the situation in the city can no longer be called cloudless, because the city is literally sinking before our eyes. And now you can often hear words of alarm that the city is slowly sinking into the water and dying forever. From the once "serene" Venice, perhaps in the near future there will be no trace. It is no coincidence that many people now call it the oldest urban locality Italy, a city where visiting travelers and tourists only stop.

Of course, the townspeople do not look at it indifferently - throughout their history they have been struggling with water inflows as best they can, but now the elements are still becoming even more active than usual. If we take the times of the Roman Empire as a starting point, Venice has already gone under water by three meters and the process of such immersion cannot stop in any way. Scientists see the main reason for this in the ever-increasing pressure of ground structures, and the fact that artesian wells do not stop their constant work also plays a big role.

On the brink of disaster

Once, namely 50 years ago, the city was already on the verge of disaster. Then - a riot of elements captured almost the entire territory of Northern Italy. Local residents who are still alive to this day recall those fateful hours with horror. From the tide, which invaded the city in the evening, a rapid rise in water began. There was nothing to counter this unexpected misfortune. It turned out that the Laguna could not resist the water in order to protect Venice from the pressure of the waves ...

An ominous communication silence hung over the city, telephones stopped working, it became dark in the houses due to the outage of electricity, gas was not available. All who were in it could only walk in high rubber shoes. Eyewitnesses of the incident say that if there had not been a lull for some time, the destructive effects of the tide would have caused irreparable damage to the city.

For the already ancient foundations of castles and the residential sector, the danger is not only strong tides of waves, but even their gentle splashing. And therefore, in such a situation, there was practically no chance of maintaining a stable position for the buildings. Without any doubt, walls would begin to crumble, roofs would fly off, and as a result, their complete collapse would come. But at random, the element, as it arose, suddenly began to recede, the wind no longer raged and the water began to decline.

The consequences of the disaster were monstrous and the extent of the damage colossal. But it would not be possible to fit the loss of Venice into any material costs. But the very possibility of the existence of the city, and not just some partial destruction, was in question. This is a monument city. Venice is not just some separate historical sights, it completely represents one huge monument and heritage of history.

Thank God, everything worked out, and the city can still please everyone who decides to admire it. He has seen a lot in his lifetime - both periods of prosperity, and decline, and the sweet years of rebirth. Therefore, the task of people in relation to it should be extremely simple - to do everything so that more than one generation can admire such a unique place.

First settlements

This city, which is not at all like a metropolis in our usual sense. The history of Venice contains a lot of interesting things. The Venetian lagoon, which is separated by more than one and a half hundred canals and channels with almost four hundred bridges thrown over it, gave rise to this unique phenomenon, where the historical center of the city is located on more than a hundred islands. A long, interrupted spit serves as a kind of border that separates the place of modern Venice from the mainland.

It is also a dividing strip, between the Adriatic Sea and the relatively shallow lagoon, which has a large number of shoals. By and large, they are not small parts of the land, they only resemble it, representing mud or sand formations caused by rivers. Therefore, they are like swampy soils. Being unsteady and very unreliable, they are excellent places that are able to hide from enemies, persecuted people.

Those who are interested in history are interested to know what Venice was like at the very beginning, how it was built. The first buildings that were erected by people on the site of the present city, of course, belong to the times of distant antiquity and such settlements belonged to fishermen and salt miners. A more accurate date for the founding of the city, if you rely on the research of scientists, should be considered the year 560. In those distant years, the Lombards made their devastating raids on Italy. The head of the church, Peacock, having taken all the church relics and riches, hastily left Aquileia and found refuge for himself and the patriarchy on the small island of Grado.

His example was followed by other church ministers, creating on the islands one by one their own bishoprics, which were in different cities of Italy. Therefore, this difficult time is considered, albeit conditionally, the date of the formation of Venice. One can imagine in what unusual conditions and difficult conditions the first settlers lived. To connect the small islands to each other, wooden decks were built, for this it was necessary to drive in huge piles that could hold on to the unsteady bottom or ground.

Therefore, in the future it can be observed that all buildings, even the most grandiose, have a foundation of wooden piles, which were driven to a depth of at least three meters, and in some cases the depth of driving was three times more, reaching up to ten meters. They are located very densely and on top, as a rule, space is given to platforms that connect oak and larch logs. Such devices are the basis for laying stone foundations.

For example, many log cabins were used for the church of Santa Maria della Salute; it has more than a million different wooden piles under it, mainly from such species as oak, alder, and larch. It took more than two years to build it all. More than 10,000 piles were used to build the Rialto Stone Bridge. The fact that the foundations of Venice are completely based on the forests of Dalmatia can also speak of the scale. The strength of such piles is very reliable, because, for example, larch, lowered into salt water, becomes as strong as iron.

heyday

The history of Venice knew in its lifetime both ups and downs. If we talk about the period of greatest prosperity, then the Middle Ages became the golden age for it. This applies both during the Crusades and after them. By the beginning of the fifteenth century, it was already an influential state. Venetian prosperity also owes much to ongoing trade. At this time, the paths along the sea had long been beaten, merchant business was going uphill. An inexhaustible stream of wealth flowed to Venice from all over the world. All this made it possible to build magnificent buildings and cathedrals. The greatness of the merchant fleet and the scale of trade could be evidenced by the fact that in 1424 thousands of first-class ships already plowed the seas here.

The construction and renovation of the city proceeded on a grand scale. As Venice was built, embankments were laid, bridges were erected, great attention was paid to the construction of new canals, while the old ones that had already outlived their time were filled up. But by the beginning of the sixteenth century, Venice began to gradually decline in political circles, its economic role and ability to significantly influence the world economy were weakening. With the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, Venice was removed from the ports abroad. New paths to India and the New World were opened, markets appeared in Europe - such countries as Spain, England, Holland, all this undoubtedly affected the state of affairs and the Venetians irretrievably lost their advantages in the trade sphere.

This is interesting: Venezuela owes its name to Venice. European navigators led by A. Vespucci, in one of their travels, noticing Indian houses on stilts that stood right in the lake, could not help but remember Venice. Since then, the name of the Latin American country, translated from Italian as little Venice, has taken root and has survived to this day.

But the riches that were accumulated during the heyday did not disappear and embodied in beautiful architecture and other sights, as before, allowed Venice to remain one of the largest cultural centers not only in Europe, but, without exaggeration, of the entire globe. During the heyday of the fine arts, they began to call her the Serenissima - the Most Serene. The famous Venetian school of painting is still remembered. Namely, in those years it was founded. Among its descendants are masters whose creations still delight the eyes of visitors - these are palaces and temples. And among the masters, history remembers such outstanding names as Bellini, Carpaccio, Titian, Giorgione, Tintoretto, Veronese.

Manners of ancient Venice

But not only Venetian painting and architecture attracted visiting gentlemen in those years. Strange as it may seem, but with the growth of visual culture, morality in the city fell. Often, prostitutes were in the center of attention of guests no less than urban architectural objects and paintings. Historians attribute the adventures of the famous womanizer Casanova to this Venetian period. Among other things, this womanizer still unwittingly became a trendsetter - triangular hats and raincoats, which could be seen at the carnivals of Venice, became fashionable thanks to him.

True or not, but numerous studies show that in the 18th century, the entire internal policy of the city was aimed at the decomposition of the whole society, and not just, for example, the aristocracy. When her idle life and luxury were unequivocally encouraged; it was considered a good deed to support the ignorance and licentious behavior of the ministers of the church, and depravity in the monasteries. The authorities also encouraged the development of all sorts of continuous strife among the common people. In addition to the moral disaster, there were others - just as terrible in their destructive power. For example, the plague covered the city more than fifty times!

Ah, carnival, carnival...

This period is also characterized by the fact that at this time the world-famous Venetian carnivals began to emerge. Speaking figuratively about what the 18th century was like, it was the age of masks. Here, in the Venetian open spaces, the mask was given the status of almost a state institution. It was one of the most significant inventions of the state, which lost any serious meaning. Starting from the first days of October until the Christmas holidays, then from the beginning of January until the first "Lenten" days, as well as on some other holidays, including the election of the doge and other officials, the Venetians were allowed to wear masks. These days in total occupied half the calendar year ...

Everything is full of masks, they are already an indispensable attribute of clothing and the Doge and the very last servant. Everything is done in masks and this is not only a game, as they say to the public, they carry out daily work, lawsuits are conducted, they sell fish, read, go to visit. It's hard to imagine, but that's exactly what happened. And the beginning of the birth of the Venetian carnivals should be sought in the ancient customs of the Romans - the Saturnalia.

These were such festive annual celebrations of Saturn, they were held when the harvest was over, and it was the winter solstice. In mass festivities, carnival masks were born. On this day, slaves could be at the same table with their masters. The masks concealed the true position of its wearer in society. This was invented in order to reduce the influence of class prejudices, which could spoil the mood of those having fun.

Now the carnival does not last for half a year - only ten days. Every year Venice is visited by a huge number of tourists. They come here not only to see the carnival, but also to participate in it. These days, various concerts are held in open areas, theaters delight the audience with performances, where the central theme is carnival. Salutes rumble and fireworks sparkle, but the doors of ancient palaces are open for those guests who dream of taking part in balls - masquerades. Venetian streets are full of citizens dressed in outfits of world-famous characters, among which Colombina is the emblem of the holiday.

Roads do not need to be repaired.

What is good about Venice, apart from all its unique attractions, is that there are no roads here. The main mode of transport used by local residents and guests of the city is water. As on ordinary roads, there are their own "minibuses" - they deliver passengers along specified routes. And although there is no highway, there are also signs similar to ordinary road signs. Known all over the world, gondolas serve as an excellent transport for romantic walks, which, as a rule, is of particular interest to tourists.

To ride on such an exotic transport, you need to pay a fairly decent amount. An hour of walking costs seventy euros. The gondola is a rather long - eleven-meter vessel and one and a half meters wide. She is also a symbol of the city, as are carnival events. By the way, it should be noted that this type of transportation is not used anywhere else. The first similar boat began to be built in the second century, and if we talk about an elongated shape, then the countdown already begins five hundred years earlier.

There are two things that tourists pay attention to. They can be said to be one of the main features of Venice. The first is the lack of tree plantations. With this, as they say, everything is clear. The second is the pronounced shabbyness of the walls of the structures. This is what confuses a lot of people. They just don't know that this is a specially created style that gives an irresistible look to Venice. For this, even freshly plastered buildings are artificially aged.
Information for tourists.

Those wishing to visit Venice should be interested to know that the island part itself, which is historical and where tourists mainly come, is quite compact and small in size. It will be a little more than four kilometers long, and half as wide. Therefore, it is possible to pass it even in an hour and a half at a leisurely pace.

The city has six districts, which are separated by a large canal - Canal Grande. If you rise to a bird's eye view, you can see that Venice is similar in silhouette to a fish, cut in the middle by the same canal, on both sides of which the Venetian regions lie. Each of them is original and different from each other, having their own historical values ​​and unique atmosphere. Next to the canals and narrow crooked streets stand churches and palaces sparkling with rich decoration.

Well, now about the places that every visitor must visit, so that Venice, the history of the city, opens up before him more fully. In a relatively small city there are more than one hundred and fifty churches, many other attractions: palaces, museums, galleries. Everyone can find something interesting for themselves. Here are some attractions:

• the main square of San Marco. Highly beautiful place, lined with marble tiles;
• Cathedral of Saint Mark;
• the Doge's Palace - it housed the former rulers of Venice;
• Bridge of Sighs. Among the many bridges that you can talk about for hours and have different amazing stories, this bridge is notable for the fact that convicts were escorted to prison along it from the Doge's Palace. In those harsh times of the Inquisition, there were practically no acquittals, so there was a short farewell to the convict.
• Peggy Guggenheim Gallery. Worth a visit for those who are fond of contemporary art, including the avant-garde.
• Academy Gallery. It will be very useful for those who are fond of classical art.

Service

This is where things stand, probably not as well as many tourists who visit this beautiful corner of Italy expect. Often you can hear complaints about not very good service. Often you can be offered not very tasty, but at the same time very expensive food. Among other things, you can run into rudeness. In this regard, experienced tourists are advised to buy food and eat away from the city center.

And to live in the city itself in a hotel is simply an unaffordable luxury that only wealthy tourists can afford. The prices are exorbitant. Therefore, most visitors stay somewhere in neighboring towns, for example, one of them is called Mestre. It is easily accessible by any means of transport - bus, train, boat or taxi. The cost of staying in a hotel is several times cheaper.

Popular with tourists, the beautiful city on the water Venice is located on 118 islands, connected by 150 canals and 409 bridges. During the construction of all buildings, the craftsmen used a special technique that made it possible to firmly strengthen the foundation and successfully withstand the daily "sea bathing" of the building. To understand the unique way of building houses on the water will help information about how Venice was built. And information about the sewerage system and its state of the art has been shocking many visitors for more than one century.

How Venice was built: history

The exact date of the founding of the city is unknown, but according to scientists, the first settlement was founded by the tribes of the Venets, who lived here in the XII-XI centuries. BC e. During the fall of the Roman Empire, the inhabitants who fled from it settled on the small island of Rialto, which was located in the center of the lagoon in northern Italy. The territory was completely covered with reeds and turned out to be unsuitable for agriculture.

The first settlement was formed on the islands of the lagoon, which were hundreds of small wetlands in shallow water. They were formed from sediments of silt and soil, which over the millennia turned into thin strips of land between depressions with water.

Such soil became the basis for the invention of the way houses were built in Venice in the early years. The settlers chose more elevated areas of land, then erected walls from clay and the roots of the “grollo” weed, which grew right there in the swamps. The roof was built from tree branches, with bundles of swamp reeds and straw tied up on top of them. Such houses turned out to be a temporary shelter, the inhabitants of which, as the troops advanced, returned to the mainland to their native homes.

Refugee settlements in Venice

In the 6th century, during the reign of the Lombard dynasty, the wealthy families of the Veneto migrated to the islands, fleeing the invasion of conquerors. The settlers who arrived were accustomed to living in more luxurious conditions, and not in simple huts. Therefore, they immediately began to build already two-story houses, in which the 1st clay floor was used for a warehouse, and the second was made of wood and was intended for living quarters.

As new refugees arrived, more territory was needed, for which the settlers had to drain the wetlands and fortify the shores of the bay. It also required the construction of berths in order to transport people and goods. The banks were fortified with a barrier of wooden trunks to raise the level of the surface, on which stones and earth were thrown from above, and then houses were built.

Initially, the settlers settled 124 islands, building independent settlements. In each, stone residential buildings and churches began to be built. Over time, each settlement expanded, houses began to be built according to the plans that were used in those days for building cities: the central square, around which public buildings were erected; residential buildings were located on the divergent streets. A rainwater collector was also built, which provided the population with drinking water.

As a large number of islands were settled and the swamps were systematically drained, bridges began to be built between them, which helped people move and transport goods.

Capital of the Venetian Republic

The central place of Venice was the island of Rialto ("high coast"), which was the safest. In 810, he became the head of the expanded settlement, officials and the government moved here. In connection with such political events, this part of the city required redevelopment and new development.

The Venetian state was supposed to have its own army, weapons, warehouses for goods and houses for wealthy citizens, as well as a residence for the Doge. Initially, the capital was called "Civitas Rivoalti" (the city of Rialto), and only in the XIII century the name was changed to Venice.

The choice of the capital in favor of the island of Rialto was made due to its inaccessibility. Due to the fact that it was surrounded by the waters of a deep sea bay, alien large ships could not approach it. During the founding of the capital here, 14 churches had already been built on the island, around which the construction of the city center continued.

The beginning of the planned development of Venice

The land on the islands consisted of several layers, which were soft and loose, and therefore unsuitable for supporting the weight of monumental stone buildings. Builders and architects were invited to solve the problems of ensuring the sustainability of future buildings and figure out how to build Venice on the water.

It was decided to drive piles into the ground, which were brought across the sea. According to their strength characteristics, only 2 types of wood were suitable: oak and larch, the latter has the specific property of becoming more durable when located under water.

To drain the territory, a dam was first erected, then piles were driven, which were previously treated with special solutions and resins. For a small residential building, 6-7 rows of piles were made, for taller buildings - a “pile field”. The trunks were hammered into the soil to the level where solid earth began.

The dimensions of the piles were: thickness 20 cm, length 3 m, 2 layers of wooden beams were laid on top of them, on top of which it was already possible to lay stones for the foundation of the building. According to historians, the total number of piles installed under the buildings of Venice is about 1 million.

The preservation of wood was also facilitated by the properties of local silt, which stuck around the tree in the form of a protective layer and did not allow air to pass through, blocking the penetration of bacteria and animals. Such amazing properties of the mud helped to avoid damage to the piles and their decay. It is the unique properties of Venetian silt that provided long term existence and operation of buildings in the city and allowed the builders to come up with a new method of how to build Venice and preserve its buildings.

Wood

There are no forest plantations on the territory of the Venetian Republic, therefore all the wood for construction had to be brought from the mountainous regions of Slovenia and Croatia. These were huge larches and oaks, which were first floated along the rivers and then delivered to the islands by sea. According to some reports, wood was also brought from Russia in the form of Perm larch or "karagai".

Due to the properties of local silt and the deep location of the piles, the access of oxygen to the wood was blocked. Therefore, microorganisms and fungi, which usually have a destructive effect on trees, died. Under the influence of sea water and mineral mud, wood has petrified over many centuries.

Venetian builders came up with not only a way to build Venice, but also how to increase the stability and lightness of city buildings. Wood began to be used by analogy with brickwork, in the form of strips of wooden piles. Such details, called "reme", were placed horizontally, at certain intervals between the masonry. They acted as "bearings", i.e. more evenly distributed the load on the walls and roof slabs.

The inner walls of Venetian buildings were also laid with beams called "skorzoni", which were located vertically and reduced the severity of the structure.

Istrian stone

The next question about how to build houses on the water in Venice, the architects decided by choosing a stone for buildings. To build a city on swampy soil, a special stone was needed that would not collapse under the influence of sea water. The most suitable was one of the types of limestone found on the Istrian peninsula (Croatia) in the Adriatic Sea and called "Istrian".

Such a building material had remarkable properties:

• had high water resistance and water resistance due to the porous surface;
• was weather resistant;
• had sufficient strength, could withstand a large mass of the building without cracking;
• it was cut simply enough to form bricks;
• possessed resistance to erosion and abrasion;
• looked great visually, because it was painted in a beautiful color, reminiscent of marble.

90% of the buildings built in Venice are made of Istrian sandstone. The stone turned out to be an ideal material for the intermediate layer between the wooden piles and the brickwork from which the walls of the building were erected. It perfectly protects the building from erosion and destruction. Nowadays, such stone is still successfully mined in the quarries of Croatia and used for the restoration of old buildings in Venice. It is also used for the construction of new buildings.

Venice urban style

Due to frequent fires, Venetian builders decided to give preference to brick and stone masonry when erecting buildings. To understand how the city of Venice and the multi-storey buildings in it were built, let's turn to the architectural principles of the building of that time.

The urban planning style of the “city on the water” was formed taking into account the absence of a possible military attack, so defensive structures were not erected. Public and residential buildings had wide openings, numerous decorations, columns and decorative elements. Each house had direct access to the water, where the facade of the building went. Inside, the architects planned a courtyard with a garden or fountain.

In 1501, magistrates of reservoirs were created in the city, which operate to this day. Their functions include providing hydraulic works, granting concessions to individuals or groups, religious societies. They indicate the working area, delivery, protective measures to remove debris from the water. The contracts imply an obligation to build bridges and building foundations. If they were not fulfilled, all property was transferred to the municipality.

How Venice was built: sewerage

There is no centralized sewerage system in the city at all, and its function is performed by small channels through which garbage and waste from the city's vital activity are carried directly to the Grand Canal and further to the Adriatic Sea. However, due to the regular ebb and flow of the tides, dirty water from the canals constantly flows into the lagoon. Therefore, in Venice, you can even see fish in the canals.

The Venetian lagoon is 56.5 km long and 9.6 km wide. It is separated from the Adriatic Sea by the straits of Lido, Chioggia and Malomocco, through which the fast current clears all the water and canals in the city. Thanks to them, Venice has existed for many centuries without a centralized sewage system.

Each palazzo has septic tanks in which waste accumulates, the lightest of which exits through holes in the walls or through pipes into the canal. Heavier fractions are pumped out by constantly plying sewage boats.

The main components of the internal sewage system in the house:

• waste receiver;
• siphons or hydraulic seals;
• networks of pipes laid inside the building and going outside;
• a special device for cleaning pipes and their inspection.

Previously, the waste passes through filters that are installed in the basement. However, to meet floating waste in the canal of Venice is quite real.

Now, in houses on some islands and on the mainland, a central sewage system has already been installed, but in the historical old part of the city everything remains the same.

The threat of flooding the city on the water

In recent years, the Venice City Council has provided little funding for the maintenance of canals, since all funds are directed to the construction of flood locks (5.4 billion euros). This is due to a plan to protect the city from constant flooding and flooding, due to which there is a gradual subsidence of buildings. Over the past 50 years, Venice has sunk by 23 cm, and the process of flooding continues by 1-2 mm annually.

Venice has been a city-museum for many years, which attracts millions of tourists to admire the beautiful palazzos and canals along which romantic gondolas glide. Many of the people do not even think about how Venice was built and why the buildings have been perfectly preserved for several centuries. All this is thanks to the first builders and architects of the city, who thought out a unique principle for the construction of multi-storey buildings.