L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE L iving on an island pre- sents a number of chal- lenges. The first priori- ties are food, shelter and a reliable source of drinking water. The earliest set- tlers of the Venetian saltwater lagoon, however, only had two out of three as freshwater was in short supply. Their solution was ingenious. And it would give the city with freshwater for over 1300 years until a supply was finally piped in from the mainland in 1884. This is the story of the Venetian vere da pozzo, lifeblood of the city. At first glance it may seem odd that a city floating in the cen- ter of the largest lagoon in the Mediterranean would struggle for water. After all, the 6000 year old lagoon was once fed by up to 10 rivers including the Brenta, Adige and Po. All this would surely sug- gest an ample supply of water for agriculture, drinking, fishing and washing. But that's only half the story. As well as river inlets from the mainland, the lagoon also has three from the Adriatic Sea at the Lido to the north, Malamocco in the middle and Chioggia to the south. And these three entrances make all the difference, as the three portals allow tidal seawater to enter the lagoon, mixing with the sweet, fresh river water and rendering it totally undrinkable. With the lagoon water poi- soned by salt and no ground springs on the little Venetian islands, the only option was to look to the skies. Venice is nei- ther tropical nor a particular wet weather city, but the Venetian solution was both simple and sophisticated. As far back as the 5th and 6th century AD settlers were build- ings wells at the heart of their settlements. But instead of drilling a deep shaft down to the water table as most mainland communities do, the Venetian wells – known as vere da pozzo - were sealed water tanks built to collect and filter the prized rain- water. Highly skilled builders known as "pozzeri," and affiliated with bricklayers, supervised the dig- ging of the tank that would plunge to a depth of 5 to 6 meters below ground (and sea) level. Sons followed their fathers and grandfathers into family well building businesses digging pozzi for the exclusive use of the city. It was an important trade and highly valued. Careful attention was paid to the surrounding lagoon to ensure it couldn't infiltrate the cistern and measures were even taken to raise the surrounding pavement level to stop tidal water entering the hole being dug. Next the tank walls and floor were sealed with a layer of local clay that acted as a waterproof barrier to infiltra- tion by salty ground water. And once the little reservoir was watertight, the filtration system could be built. In the center of the tank, engi- neers would construct a tall canna da pozzo or funnel made of porous pozzali bricks set upon a slab of Istrian stone. The funnel was as deep as the tank and formed the well shaft down which locals would dip their buckets. Layers of clean, wet, river sand and gravel were then laid down around the outside of the canna between it and the walls of the tank. Each stratum consisted of a different size of stone or sand and once complete created a graduated filter, sepa- rating out detritus and any harm- ful pollutants in the water enter- ing the tank. Before capping the tank one, or rather four, last features were added. Four bell shaped cones were dug into the top layers of the sand, pointing tip down. The cones were arranged in a square around the canna and were open at both the top and bottom to allow water to flow through them ELIZABETH SALTHOUSE Venetian wells, lifeblood of the city into the sand. And when topped with "pilelle" made from more Istrian stone pierced three or four times, the cones acted as drains through which every last drop of rain could flow guaranteeing the collection and storage of the maximum amount of water pos- sible. The final stage was to cap the tank, to restore the stone pave- ment and to add a wellhead to stop people falling down the shaft. If you look at an old well- head today you'll spot their water management skills still as the pavement is slightly sloped down towards the pilelle drain slots so water is naturally channeled into the tank by gravity. The well- heads and the pavement are both made from Istrian stone that resists salt water well and you can even tell the full dimensions of most wells as the builders often used the stone to mark out the outline of the tank boundaries in decorative grids in the pave- ment. And so to the crowning glory: the enormous wellheads. All the pozzi are raised above the pave- ment, on a large stone curb to avoid high water tidal contami- nation. And the vere da pozzo were often decorated with the coat of arms or inscriptions of the family who'd paid for them.They were capped with heavy, iron covers and locked for most of the day, and only the local priest had the key to unlock sustenance and the well would be opened twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening to the sounds of the bells of the wells calling residents to charge their buckets. Once the pozzi were built the Republic took great care to keep them in working order passing several laws to protect them and instituting a workforce of the Waters, Health and Commune to keep a check on their upkeep. For example, it was illegal to dump rubbish near them in case the garbage contaminated the water. And water bowls for cats and dogs left at the base of the wells had to be kept rigorously clean for similar reasons. By 1857 the city census recorded over 6000, largely pri- vate, wells in and around the cen- ter. Of the private pozzi, 2212 were declared as containing "good" water, 1636 were mediocre and 2198 totally bad water whereas all the public wells were good. They were pro- viding water to a population of over 140,000 people. So, far from being simple water holes the vere da pozzo were clever collection, filtration, conservation and management systems. They supported entire communities with one pozzo col- lecting natural rainwater through- out the year. And at the height of Venice's prosperity there were over 6500 wells keeping thou- sands of Venetians alive in a seemingly inhospitable environ- ment. Sadly no wells are still in use today although several hun- dred still stand in their original squares and courtyards but in these days of drought, water shortages and environmental stress we could learn a thing or two from the Venetians and their vere da pozzo, lifeblood of the city! At first glance, it may appear strange that a city like Venice would need water, yet, that was the case and wells were the perfect solution Old Venetian wells were filled with rain water and in part built with white Istrian stone

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