Name: How Venice Was Built On a Swamp
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Building a city on a lagoon has its challenges. Here's how the citizens of Venice accomplished this task centuries ago.

Ever wonder how Venice was built? Here’s how.

How Venice Was Built On a Swamp

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Building a city on a lagoon has its challenges. Here's how the citizens of Venice accomplished this task centuries ago.

Ever wonder how Venice was built? Here’s how.

Tech & Engineering

How Venice Was Built On a SwampPublished: October 19, 2022ALBERTO BARAUSSE (Environmental Researcher): Venice was born in the lagoon, because the lagoon was useful to Venice. So, Venetians shaped the lagoon the way they wanted. But this environment posed a problem. How could they build on such soft ground? This is actually the, the, the kind of landscape they, saw back then. So, very low-lying land, marshes, some islands, but, in general, very wet swampy soil, such as this one. I just want to show you how, how soft this mud is by trying and walk here. I’m not that heavy weight. I weigh 65 kilos. But I’m sinking like this.NARRATOR: Sixty-five kilos is around 140 pounds. If the mud can’t support this, how could it bear the weight of a wooden house, let alone one of Venice’s grand stone buildings? The solution? Forcing wooden poles into the soft mud. These poles don’t support the weight…STEFANO: (Translated) Is this alright?NARRATOR: …they transform the mud around them.ALBERTO BARAUSSE: The idea is to do a little experiment. When you plant many poles, they compact the mud between them. The water is pushed out, and the compaction of the mud, itself, make the, the, the mud more capable of supporting weight.NARRATOR: Modern day excavations under the city reveal that Venetians maximized the compaction of the mud by using a large number of poles, packed tightly together. Directly on top, they placed wooden planks, then impermeable limestone, and above the waterline, bricks.ALBERTO BARAUSSE: There, you see? I’m lightweight, more than him. He can also try. Okay, you see? Omar is not sinking because the effect of the poles that compacts the mud between them. So, it changes from more, I would say, fluid like to more solid-like. And the proof of this is when we put the plank over there and do the same thing on the mud without the poles underneath. You see? There’s a difference.NARRATOR: This technology is the secret of Venice’s construction and longevity. It allowed the first settlers to adapt the environment and build the first houses. The Venetians used wooden piles to build on a cluster of 118 marshy islands, and, over the centuries, they created the city we see today.

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How Venice Was Built On a Swamp

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Sea Level Rise: When 1 in = 2 ft

Saving Venice From the Sea

Saving Venice