Beneath the Mysterious Canals Of Venice | Ancient Mysteries (S3, E20) | Full Episode | History

HISTORY・2 minutes read

Venice, established to escape invaders, thrived with a unique way of life surviving on the lagoon through trade and technology. The city's history of democracy and grandeur faced challenges from nature, internal decay, and external threats, with ongoing sinking and potential sea level rise posing existential risks.

Insights

  • Venetians established a unique way of life to thrive in a challenging lagoon environment, relying on trade, innovative construction techniques like driving wooden poles into the sediment, and creating a democratic system that endured for centuries.
  • Venice's decline from a powerful maritime empire to a sinking city facing threats from nature and human interference highlights the delicate balance between historical grandeur and modern challenges, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable solutions to ensure the city's survival amidst rising sea levels and environmental changes.

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Recent questions

  • How did Venetians survive in a lagoon?

    By becoming traders and utilizing salt for trade.

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Summary

00:00

Venice: A City of Resilience and Innovation

  • Venice was established as a city to escape invading hordes and has a history of grandeur and debauchery.
  • The city has stood for fifteen hundred years, defying nature's forces, built on small muddy islands surrounded by overwhelming waters.
  • Venetians invented a new way of life to survive in the lagoon, which has remained largely unchanged over the centuries.
  • Early Venetians faced challenges in building, moving, and growing food but managed to create a dominant city and a democracy.
  • The city was initially a refuge from barbarian raids on the mainland, with residents living in wooden huts on the marshy islands.
  • Venetians survived by becoming traders, utilizing the salt in the water to produce a valuable commodity for trade.
  • To build on the soft mud, Venetians drove wooden poles deep into the sediment to create a foundation for structures.
  • The Venetians refined their technology by driving thousands of wooden poles into the sediment, using water-resistant marble and bricks for construction.
  • The construction of a cathedral on the island of Torcello in 639 A.D. marked the Venetians' determination to make the lagoon their permanent home.
  • The issue of subsidence, causing buildings to sink unevenly, was discovered by early builders and continues to threaten Venice today.

13:13

Venice: From Malaria to Maritime Dominance

  • The Franks faced malaria in the lagoon, leading to many casualties, including King Pippin.
  • Venetians made radical changes after surviving the invasion, establishing a new capital on deserted islands in the lagoon, known as the Rialto.
  • The Rialto's natural water channels, like the Grand Canal, facilitated Venetian trading.
  • Venetians straightened canals for commercial purposes, using basic technology like damming and digging with shovels.
  • Venetian merchants acquired St. Mark's body from Alexandria, leading to the construction of St. Mark's Basilica.
  • The Basilica's foundation required driving wooden poles over 15 feet into compacted sand for stability.
  • Venetians utilized wooden poles for building foundations, a method still employed today with machine assistance.
  • Venetians constructed palatial houses in canals, reinforcing foundations with waterproof material from the Adriatic Sea.
  • Venetians became dominant traders, with a powerful ocean-going fleet and the Arsenal shipyard producing one ship daily.
  • Venice's prosperity was linked to the sea, with the Doge symbolically marrying the sea annually, and merchants like Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus expanding trade and exploration.

25:51

Venice: Democracy, Wealth, Decline, and Challenges

  • Venice developed a unique form of democracy with a Grand Council of 2,000 members electing the city's leader, the Doge, with power shared among them.
  • The Venetians were vigilant in preventing anyone from undermining their system, using a special box called a Lion's Mouth for anonymous letters detailing alleged plots.
  • Venetian prisons were infamous for torture instruments, including those for tearing out teeth and tongues and crushing skulls.
  • Despite harsh treatment of conspirators, the Venetian government lasted over a thousand years due to support from citizens, offering welfare measures like state-run medical services and free legal representation for the poor.
  • Venice's wealth supported not only the poor but also great artists like Titian and Vivaldi.
  • Venice's dominance in ocean trade ended with the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and the Portuguese finding a new trade route to Asia.
  • Venice faced challenges from the Turkish Empire and internal decadence, leading to a decline in power and reputation.
  • Venice's decadence, including widespread gambling and courtesans, contributed to its demise as an independent state, eventually falling to French forces in 1797.
  • Venice's battle against nature included sinking due to settling sediment and rising sea levels, causing damage to historic buildings like St. Mark's Basilica.
  • Modern boat engines in the canals are also damaging Venice's foundations, exacerbating the city's existing challenges with nature.

38:42

Venice Sinking: Threats and Solutions

  • Venice is sinking due to erosion caused by boat propellers and human interference, such as pumping the lagoon floor for water and gas until the 1970s, leading to additional sinking.
  • To combat the sinking, Venetians historically built up the ground level with landfill, raising St. Mark's Square nearly ten feet over a thousand years.
  • Current discussions involve constructing floodgates at the lagoon's mouth to prevent high tides, but experts warn that Venice's survival is threatened by ongoing sinking and potential sea level rise due to global warming, with predictions of catastrophic sea level increases in the future.
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