Old well, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, Venice, Italy, Europe

Old well, at Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti (Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti), Venice, Italy, Europe. Because Venice was cut off from reliable sources of fresh water, Venetians built underground clay-lined cisterns to collect and filter rainwater. Many wellheads were decorated with carvings of saints, family crests, inscriptions in Carolingian, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque era styles. An aqueduct from the mainland completed in the late 1800s made these wells obsolete. Venezia is the capital of Italy’s Veneto region, named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. The romantic "City of Canals" stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po (south) and Piave (north) Rivers. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.

Add to Cart Add to Lightbox Download

Filename: 13ITA-10475_Venice-Italy.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 5333x8000 / 9.0MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; art art work history past
Contained in galleries: ITALY: Venice: St Mark's, Rialto, gondolas, canals, architecture

Old well, at Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti (Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti), Venice, Italy, Europe. Because Venice was cut off from reliable sources of fresh water, Venetians built underground clay-lined cisterns to collect and filter rainwater. Many wellheads were decorated with carvings of saints, family crests, inscriptions in Carolingian, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque era styles. An aqueduct from the mainland completed in the late 1800s made these wells obsolete. Venezia is the capital of Italy’s Veneto region, named for the ancient Veneti people from the 900s BC. The romantic "City of Canals" stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy, between the mouths of the Po (south) and Piave (north) Rivers. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a staging area for the Crusades, and a major center of art and commerce (silk, grain and spice trade) from the 1200s to 1600s. The wealthy legacy of Venice stands today in a rich architecture combining Gothic, Byzantine, and Arab styles.