History of Water Provision in Venice: Difference between revisions
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== Early Water Provision == | == Early Water Provision == | ||
As a collection of islands surrounded by a saltwater lagoon, Venice lacks natural sources of freshwater. As a result, Venice had to find alternative ways to obtain freshwater for the city. Before the introduction of the cistern system of Venice, the citizens of Venice relied on a few different sources of freshwater. They caught rain in basins, ran barges to the mainland to collect water from groundwells, and dug shallow wells in the lido to reach pockets of drinking water. The bargemen that were responsible for bringing water from the mainland to Venice were called the ''acquaroli ''and they were a public guild. These pockets were the result of rainwater filtering through the fine sands of the Lido beaches. Although these sources brought freshwater, they came with many drawbacks. This system mainly relied on the barges to supply water to the city, which was very expensive in both manpower and resources. | As a collection of islands surrounded by a saltwater lagoon, Venice lacks natural sources of freshwater. As a result, Venice had to find alternative ways to obtain freshwater for the city. Before the introduction of the cistern system of Venice, the citizens of Venice relied on a few different sources of freshwater. They caught rain in basins, ran barges to the mainland to collect water from groundwells, and dug shallow wells in the lido to reach pockets of drinking water. The bargemen that were responsible for bringing water from the mainland to Venice were called the ''acquaroli ''and they were a public guild. These pockets were the result of rainwater filtering through the fine sands of the Lido beaches. Although these sources brought freshwater, they came with many drawbacks. This system mainly relied on the barges to supply water to the city, which was very expensive in both manpower and resources. | ||
==The Cistern System== | == The Cistern System == | ||
The oldest known Venetian cistern-[[wells]] were constructed in the eleventh century, around 1038 <ref>Veikou, 2022</ref> , which allowed the people of Venice to gather water without needing the barges to transport it from the mainland <ref> D. Gentilcore, "The cistern-system of early modern Venice: technology, politics and culture in a hydraulic society", Water History, 13-3 (October 2021): 375-406</ref> . These "wells" were actually cisterns that emulated the natural filtration of the Lido's sand dunes. They collected rainwater through street-level drains, filtered it through layers of sand from the Lido, and held the drinkable water to be collected for later use. Citizens could draw clean drinking water through a decorative street-level structure called a [[wellhead]]. This system was implimented slowly throughout Venice for the next two hunder years. Then, in the 13th-15th centuries, the city of Venice built wells in every ''campo'' and ''corte'' to make clean water as accessible as possible. Once the wells became commonplace, Venice's reliance on the water-carrying barges reduced greatly. The barges were not fully eliminated, however, since they were in charge of filling the wells with water from the mainland when the wells began to run dry. | |||
While the cisterns were vital to the survival of Venice, they did not come without their drawbacks. Their construction was very difficult, requiring the use of multiple different trades, and there was a risk of contamination to the well water. In 1575, there was an epidemic that took out nearly a third of Venice's population <ref>Seindal, 2023</ref> , and left Venice with a heavy focus on finding a better water source than the cisterns in order to avoid an incident like this happening again. This was Venice's system for fresh water supply until 1884, when the Venetian aqueduct was constructed, providing Venice with a more reliable and safer source of drinking water <ref>A city on the water but without fresh water,” n.d.</ref> . | |||
== Fountains == | |||
In 1884, the Venetian aqueduct was constructed, which connected the mainland more reliable and ser water sources to Venice. Some [[fountains]] were built at the same time as the aqueduct, and over the next decades, more fountains were built in ''campi'' and public streets across Venice. Some fountains were made individually with impressive design, while many others were mass-produced. Over the next 50 years, Venice's Magistry of Water systematically sealed all the wells across the city. Most wellheads were removed from their post and were either auctioned off or used for other purposes. During this time, water lines were also added to every house in Venice. The fountains slowly fell out of use as water lines became more common. Nowadays, the water from the working fountains is still clean and potable, but mostly goes unused. | |||
==Modern Water Provision== | == Modern Water Provision == | ||
Veritas | The large majority of Venice's water supply is provided by the public works company Veritas. Veritas supplies water to houses as well as fountains and conducts yearly water tests on the fountain water to make sure it stays potable. | ||
Latest revision as of 12:51, 11 December 2025
Early Water Provision
As a collection of islands surrounded by a saltwater lagoon, Venice lacks natural sources of freshwater. As a result, Venice had to find alternative ways to obtain freshwater for the city. Before the introduction of the cistern system of Venice, the citizens of Venice relied on a few different sources of freshwater. They caught rain in basins, ran barges to the mainland to collect water from groundwells, and dug shallow wells in the lido to reach pockets of drinking water. The bargemen that were responsible for bringing water from the mainland to Venice were called the acquaroli and they were a public guild. These pockets were the result of rainwater filtering through the fine sands of the Lido beaches. Although these sources brought freshwater, they came with many drawbacks. This system mainly relied on the barges to supply water to the city, which was very expensive in both manpower and resources.
The Cistern System
The oldest known Venetian cistern-wells were constructed in the eleventh century, around 1038 [1] , which allowed the people of Venice to gather water without needing the barges to transport it from the mainland [2] . These "wells" were actually cisterns that emulated the natural filtration of the Lido's sand dunes. They collected rainwater through street-level drains, filtered it through layers of sand from the Lido, and held the drinkable water to be collected for later use. Citizens could draw clean drinking water through a decorative street-level structure called a wellhead. This system was implimented slowly throughout Venice for the next two hunder years. Then, in the 13th-15th centuries, the city of Venice built wells in every campo and corte to make clean water as accessible as possible. Once the wells became commonplace, Venice's reliance on the water-carrying barges reduced greatly. The barges were not fully eliminated, however, since they were in charge of filling the wells with water from the mainland when the wells began to run dry.
While the cisterns were vital to the survival of Venice, they did not come without their drawbacks. Their construction was very difficult, requiring the use of multiple different trades, and there was a risk of contamination to the well water. In 1575, there was an epidemic that took out nearly a third of Venice's population [3] , and left Venice with a heavy focus on finding a better water source than the cisterns in order to avoid an incident like this happening again. This was Venice's system for fresh water supply until 1884, when the Venetian aqueduct was constructed, providing Venice with a more reliable and safer source of drinking water [4] .
Fountains
In 1884, the Venetian aqueduct was constructed, which connected the mainland more reliable and ser water sources to Venice. Some fountains were built at the same time as the aqueduct, and over the next decades, more fountains were built in campi and public streets across Venice. Some fountains were made individually with impressive design, while many others were mass-produced. Over the next 50 years, Venice's Magistry of Water systematically sealed all the wells across the city. Most wellheads were removed from their post and were either auctioned off or used for other purposes. During this time, water lines were also added to every house in Venice. The fountains slowly fell out of use as water lines became more common. Nowadays, the water from the working fountains is still clean and potable, but mostly goes unused.
Modern Water Provision
The large majority of Venice's water supply is provided by the public works company Veritas. Veritas supplies water to houses as well as fountains and conducts yearly water tests on the fountain water to make sure it stays potable.