Buongiorno Dear Traveler!
We arrived here with you to discover the meaning of a typical venetian noun “squero”, that
means “shipyard” and to learn about the fascinating world of venetian production of boats!
We are sure: did you already notice there are no cars in Venice? Not a single one! But boats,
yes, are everywhere! Venetian boats need a specific shape, the bottom has to be flat, the
lagoon, indeed, it is not deep water!
These boats were built and kept in the various “squeri” of town. We had the “Arsenale”, the
big Venetian State shipyard, and we had many smaller and private ones spread around.
Today only six of them are left, but traces of their ancient location remain in the town’s
toponymy: as it is here! The “campiello dello squero”. And why are we talking about boats?
Well..because, despite the presence of a great number of wells in Venice collecting water
from the rain, the growing Venetian population meant a growing demand for water. This led,
in 1386, to the creation of the “Corporazione degli acquaroli”, a corporation whose role was
to ensure that the city had enough water at all times. They were transporting, using typical
venetian boats called Burchi and Burchielli, fresh water from the Brenta river back to Venice,
filling up the wells again, thanks to the use of wooden pipes. In the XVI century, the
population in Venice grew so much that in 1609 it was decided to dig an artificial channel to
speed up the delivery of water: the Seriola
Although the water was public, “acquaroli” had the permission to sell water for direct
consumption, just like modern street vendors would do.
And, Acquaroli, however, soon added one more task to their job.
Indeed, since “acquaroli” were cruising through most of the city to fill in the many Venetian
wells, they started also collecting garbage.
They kept the same type of boats, now called “scoazzere”, but began storing the freshwater
in closed barrels to preserve its purity.
And now, we wish you to keep going on with your navigation around town, using your feet,
taking a gondola ride and framing all the other target images located in the map.
