venice and its surroundings 43
elderly men in addressing the problems of the lagoon.53 However, his-
torical and scientific observations could now be associated to empirical
knowledge of the terrain and to the observations of artists; the example
of Marco Corner’s treatise on the lagoon testifies to this. A stockpile of
information had been gathered, and reports, records, and drawings were
preserved. Archives were thus created that also incorporated all former
provisions regarding the waters and the lagoon.54 A pool of competent
engineers had also formed over time. This pool could rely on a group of
contractors specializing in aquatic projects, able to implement certain
advanced techniques, as evidenced by the progress of the coastal defense
or the patent applications for dredgers. Finally, until the last third of
the 15th century, several magistrates had been in charge of the coasts, the
harbor, and hydrographic works. It is necessary to see in this organization
on the one hand the effects of a common practice that often distributed
skills, which created new magistracies without deleting the old ones, and
which additionally added extra magistracies to the established offices that
were elected for the duration of a single project or a particular work. But
it is especially important to recognize the consequences of an administra-
tion that dissociated elements from their environment. Thus, in the last
third of the 15th century, as Savi alle acque were increasingly elected, a
specialized magistracy was established, with a technical staff employed
in a stable manner. The new office responsible for environmental regula-
tions would reward its own engineers.55 In sum, the various elements of
a complex system—the rivers, coastlines, harbors, swamps, the conglom-
eration itself—were gradually considered as a single unit.
Even though the debates remained bitter and the proposed solutions
remained contradictory, in the first half of the 16th century, the principles
of water policy took a clearer shape. It is in the 17th century that these
“macrohydraulic” interventions would be realized, which would elimi-
nate the threat of the rivers and would establish the present configura-
tion of the lagoon basin.56 It was only then, after countless projects, after
the limited interventions motivated by one main goal, to save the cen-
tral lagoon, that is to say, the waters surrounding Venice, that the rescue
53 Crouzet-Pavan, Sopra le acque salse, 1:362–63.
54 A. S.V, Savi ed Esecutori alle acque, B. 330, fols 60v, 63v; B. 331, fols 13v–14r.
55 A. Favaro, “Notizie storiche sul magistrato veneto alle acque,” Nuovo Archivio veneto,
n.s., 9 (1905), 179–99.
56 S. Ciriacono, Acque e agricoltura. Venezia, l’Olanda e la bonifica europea in età mod-
erna (Milan, 1994), pp. 162–70.