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Venice: A Floating City on an Underwater Forest

Since the year 421 AD, the city of Venice has stood on millions of wooden piles. Instead of steel or concrete, the city was primarily built using alder wood and some oak.

These wooden piles have hardened like stone due to prolonged exposure to saltwater. To construct just the St. Mark’s Campanile, 100,000 wooden piles were used, while the massive Basilica della Salute required more than a million! The skilled builders of that era drove these piles deep into the seabed, creating a remarkable “submerged forest.”

This structure extends up to three meters deep, with the piles placed half a meter apart. Positioned 1.6 meters below the water level, this extraordinary medieval engineering feat has kept Venice standing strong for 1,500 years, making it one of the world’s most astonishing cities.

Fascinating! The engineering behind Venice's foundation is truly remarkable, showcasing the ingenuity of ancient builders. It's incredible to think how these wooden piles have supported the city for centuries, turning into stone-like structures underwater. Venice's history and resilience are truly awe-inspiring.