Hello friends, this is my entry for #monomad challenge of today: our visit to the engineering work of the wells of Venice.
ENG
The wells in Venice are considered an engineering genius of the time in the service of a city that, despite being built on water, had no drinking water for its inhabitants.
While the classic wells procured water by accessing an underground source, the Venetian wells were different because they proceeded to collect and filter rainwater: this was possible through the use of manholes (made with a slight slope) that channeled the water in a sort of cistern where it was filtered by exploiting the almost impermeable clayey nature of the subsoil.
It was essential to build wells in areas where the water from the cisterns was not invaded by salt water in the event of a rise in the tide level.
The upper part of the well was generally made of Istrian stone and finished with decorations and bas-reliefs relating to the noble families who had financed its construction.
IT
I pozzi a Venezia sono considerati una genialità ingegneristica del tempo al servizio di una città che, nonostante fosse costruita sull'acqua, non aveva acqua potabile per i suoi abitanti.
Mentre i pozzi classici procuravano l'acqua accedendo a una fonte sotterranea, i pozzi veneziani erano diversi perchè procedevano alla raccolta e al filtraggio dell’acqua piovana: questo era attraverso l'uso di tombini (realizzati in leggera pendenza) che incanalavano l’acqua in una sorta di cisterna dove veniva filtrata sfruttando la natura argillosa quasi impermeabile del sottosuolo.
Era fondamentale costruire i pozzi in zone in cui l'acqua delle cisterne non venisse invasa dall’acqua salata in caso di innalzamento del livello delle maree.
La parte superiore del pozzo veniva generalmente realizzata in pietra d’Istria e rifinita con decorazioni e bassorilievi relativi alle famiglie di nobili che ne avevano finanziato la realizzazione.
The photos are of the autor.