Venice [antikvár]

The originality and the peculiarity of Venice arise principally from the natural setting of the city itself, built as it is on land which only just breaks the surface of the lagoon. These islands are made up of layers of differing kinds of soil, but the upper layers of silt were in any case unable to support the weight of buildings. Before beginning construction of a building it was therefore necessary to carry out consolidation work. This was achieved by driving piles into the earth and laying on them a platform of thick wooden planks. An excellent example of the process can be found in the description of the foundations of the church of S. Maria della Salute given in "Venezia, cittá nobilissima del Sansovino", published in Venice in 1663. "Construction was begun by driving into the subsoil one millión, one hundred and six thousand six hundred and fifty-seven piles of oak, alder and larch, each about four metres long. This preparatory phase took about two years and two months to complete. Then a platform like a huge raft made of planks of oak and larch firmly lashed together was built on this base of piles".