What makes Venice so unique is it is not built on land but on wooden piles.
There are no cars or motorbikes and bicycles are not allowed so the only way to get around is by walking or by boat. Fantastic!
Early settlers in the 5th and 6th centuries had simple wooden huts built on stilts in the lagoon on some of the marshy muddy ground that was available but these were limited and flooded daily.
As Venice expanded over the centuries they utilised a technique, originally used in Rome, to drive wooden piles into the ground where there is a layer of hard type clay known as ‘Caranto’ that secures the piles similar to being in bedrock.
Over the vertical piles, that were initially painstakingly driven into the ground by rudimental hand driven piling techniques, they secured horizontal wooden platforms on which the stone foundations and buildings were constructed.
It is estimated that there are 10 million wooden piles used to create the Venice that you see today!
As the wood is not exposed to oxygen, and microorganisms are not able to penetrate it to rot them, the wood has petrified and is as solid and as strong as stone!
Venice is built on a group of 127 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals with 472 bridges linking the city.
As the city is subject to two tidal cycles daily, and due to its position in a shallow coastal lagoon, it can sometimes flood at high tide especially during a high spring tide. High water traditionally occurs between the months of October and March.
A major flood barrier system known as MOSE (italian for Moses and short for Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) was completed operationally in 2020 but is still undergoing developments.
MOSE is huge engineering project costing €6bn with 78 enormous barriers each 20-30 meters long and 20 meters wide. They are embedded in the seabed in concrete chests 40 meters wide, 60 meters long and 10 meters high. They are spread in four lines at the three entry points to the Venetian lagoon. It costs €300k each time they need to raise or lower the barriers but they have protected Venice from mass flooding.
No need to bring your wellies but you might have to traverse the raised walkways through San Marco square if you’re unfortunate enough to be there when it floods!
Venice is a stunning and truly unique destination, you’ll be stopping at every canal and bridge to take pictures and whilst it can get busy in the main tourist areas turn a corner and you’ll soon find yourself in a quiet spot to enjoy the architecture and ambience.
