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The incredible engineering of Venice - Stephanie H. Smith - Video học tiếng Anh
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The incredible engineering of Venice - Stephanie H. Smith
The incredible engineering of Venice - Stephanie H. Smith
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자막 (87)
0:06
In the late 560s, a Germanic group known as the Lombards
0:12
was wreaking havoc through northern Italy.
0:15
To escape the invaders, boatloads of people fled into the Venetian Lagoon,
0:21
a morass of swampy mudflats and scattered islands.
0:25
Formed over centuries by the outflow of silt from the Po and Piave Rivers
0:32
and the counterforce of Adriatic currents,
0:35
this marshy maze was constantly shifting and disappearing.
0:40
These qualities made it both the perfect spot to hide
0:44
and a very unstable place to live.
0:48
So the new arrivals set out to tame the lagoon
0:52
and build the most unlikely of cities from the mud.
0:57
While some fishermen already inhabited the region in stilted huts,
1:02
the settlers wanted to build a foundation
1:05
to support heavier, longer lasting structures.
1:08
Little did they know, their work would support Venice to this very day.
1:14
They drove clusters of 1 to 3-meter-long wooden piles into the ground,
1:20
in a process that squeezed out groundwater and compacted mud around the piles.
1:27
This created an oxygen-free environment that protected the wood
1:31
from insects and fungi.
1:34
The piles were still vulnerable to minor bacterial damage,
1:38
but otherwise impervious to rot.
1:41
And this sealed system of wood, water, and mud
1:46
is still supporting Venice 1,500 years later.
1:53
Wooden beams and stone platforms above the piles
1:56
provided the bases for buildings.
1:59
And sometime around 697,
2:02
the settlers formally declared their new home the Republic of Venice.
2:07
Initially, footbridges were built to connect the islands,
2:12
but these were prone to decay, collapse, and fire.
2:16
Many, like the famed Rialto Bridge, had to be regularly rebuilt,
2:21
each time incorporating new materials and techniques
2:24
to improve their longevity.
2:27
By the 11th century, the channels between islands had been reinforced
2:31
into stone-lined canals navigated by slender gondolas.
2:37
And unlike the rest of Europe, where nobles typically rode above commoners,
2:42
the city's layout necessitated foot travel for all classes.
2:47
Yet despite this clever engineering,
2:50
the Republic still had no land for farming,
2:53
so Venetians were heavily dependent on trade.
2:57
Fortunately, Venice's location made it the perfect port city
3:02
to connect markets from Europe to the Silk Road.
3:06
Its canal network allowed boats to dock close to warehouses,
3:11
and the challenge of navigating its narrow waterways
3:14
protected the city from outsiders.
3:17
These advantages helped make Venice a major maritime power,
3:22
and the 1200s began with their biggest business deal yet.
3:27
The Pope brokered an arrangement with Venice’s elected leader,
3:32
Enrico Dandolo,
3:33
to produce ships and arms
3:35
for the Fourth Crusade’s anticipated 33,000 soldiers.
3:41
Dandolo agreed, investing huge amounts of the republic’s money and resources.
3:48
But when it was time to set sail, only one-third of the soldiers arrived,
3:54
with less than half of the promised payment.
3:58
Furious, Dandolo redirected the crusading army
4:03
against Venice’s Christian rivals, including Constantinople.
4:08
This campaign laid the foundation for Venice's overseas empire,
4:13
and over the following centuries,
4:15
Venetian merchants like Marco Polo ventured as far as China.
4:20
During the Renaissance, the republic became a hub of art and intellectual life.
4:26
Its sail-making looms were repurposed to create vast canvases,
4:31
its craftsmen pioneered various printing techniques,
4:35
and the silica-rich sands from the Ticino and Adige rivers
4:40
fueled extravagant glassworks.
4:43
However, in addition to art, silks, and spices,
4:48
the Venetians also traded enslaved peoples to work in private homes or on ships.
4:55
Once freed, some stayed in the city, even finding work as gondoliers.
5:01
Venice's dominance over the Mediterranean remained unchallenged
5:06
until the mid-15th century,
5:08
when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople.
5:11
In the following centuries,
5:12
the Ottomans used their navy to interfere with Venice's business,
5:17
all while new transoceanic trade routes excluded Venetians.
5:23
The republic soldiered on until French attacks forced it to dissolve in 1797,
5:30
at which point Venice traded hands between Austria and France several times
5:36
before finally being ceded to Italy in 1866.
5:41
No longer able to compete commercially,
5:44
Venice was reinvented as a tourist destination.
5:48
But today, rising sea levels are threatening to sink
5:52
the so-called “floating city.”
5:55
In 1900, the then 900-year-old Basilica di San Marco
6:00
flooded about seven times a year—
6:03
now it experiences roughly 250 annual floods.
6:09
And tourists are perhaps just as dangerous.
6:12
As millions of annual visitors speed along in motorboats,
6:16
they erode the muddy barrier protecting Venice’s foundations.
6:21
Left unaddressed,
6:22
these modern advances could destroy one of the world’s most remarkable cities.
