| The City of Venice is one of its kind and a unique city | | | | Buildings, then, were made atop this framework. To |
| the world over. The striking feature about the city is | | | | keep the weight minimal, buildings were constructed |
| that it is built on a set of over a hundred submerged | | | | from wood. This, however, made the city prone to fire |
| islands in the midst of a lagoon. To construct a city | | | | risks. This technique, which may sound a bit shaky, has |
| over these low lying muddy islands was a wonder, and | | | | withstood the vagaries of time, as some buildings |
| the citizens evolved new techniques to bring fore a | | | | today are as old as 400 years. |
| unique city. The early citizens made rafts from larch. | | | | Since Venice was built on a number of islands, the |
| Timber piles were inserted deep into the island to | | | | canals are a natural phenomenon. But some manmade |
| support the rafts. Oak and Pine wood brought from | | | | canals too were built using the age-old convention of |
| the forests of northern Veneto was used to shape | | | | blocking an end and digging through the water-way |
| the piles. This framework of piles formed a flexible and | | | | before doing away with the temporary block to flood |
| strong foundation under the solid compressed clay of | | | | the canals. Canals separating the islands are |
| the islands. Water-proof stones from Istria were used | | | | connected through bridges, which help keep in touch |
| and placed on the rafts that were supported by the | | | | the self-contained communities. |
| piles. | | | | |