Welcome to You Ask Andy

 

Charlie Cuthbert, age 10, of Petersburg, Va., for his question:

Why does Venice have canals for streets?

The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean, reaching up between Italy and Yugoslavia. Its northern shore is a plain, sloping up to the towering Alps. From earliest times swift rivers gushed down these slopes from the mountain glaciers to the Adriatic. They brought with them quantities of rocks and silt. This muddy debris was dumped by the rivers off the northern shores of the Adriatic. The region was a series of tide‑swept muddy islands.

Fishing was good and a few people made; their homes on these islands. The rise of mighty Rome went unnoticed. in these backwaters. Than in the middle of the fifth century occurred an event which was to change the history of all Europe and reach even these muddy islands in the northern Adriatic,

Attila and his armies of barbarian Huns erupted over the face of Europe. Unlike the Romans, these conquerors did not aim to build an empire. They established no law and order among the people they vanguishec., The Huns were bent only on loot and. plunder. In their wake the fear cities of Europe lay wasted and destroyed. The barbarians put those who were not Huns to the sword or forced them into slavery. The Mediterranean peoples fled in terror before Attila. . and his hordes.

The forgotten islands of the Adriatic were remembered. Soon they were filled with refugees, people who had fled their farms and cities on the mainland. When the Huns subsided some of the refugees returned to their ravaged homes. But in later years the Huns struck again and again. Each time the islands became a safe refuge .for the terror‑stricken people. By the middle of the sixth century permanent settlements were established on 12 of the islands,

On Rialto Island a group of men met to form a city. They ware the founding fathers of Venice, city of canals. Churches, palaces and stately heroes were built at the water’s edge. The channels of water between the islands served as streets. The city prospered. It handled overland trade from the Orient and ocean trade through  the Adriatic. And much of the city's  wealth  was used to construct more and more lavish buildings.

Venice, Queen of the Adriatic, reached the peak of her glory in the 16th century. It was a city‑state, holding trading rights and territories on the mainland. The waterways, which once provided safety from the Huns, now made the rich and beautiful city unique.

City traffic then, is now, traveled by boat. Instead of streets there is a network of 170 canals. There, are narrow walks beside the canals and alleyways between the building. There are about 378 bridges by which you can cross the canals. But there are no streets on which to drive a car.

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