Venice and water are inseparable. For centuries, the city got its fresh water from rainwater collected in cisterns in town squares. Its saltwater lagoon routinely floods the city. Emigrants came to the city in waves: from Croatians to Greeks to Jews, who were isolated in the Ghetto.

Historically, Venice solved its lack of natural fresh water through a highly ingenious system of underground cisterns known as "pozzi" (wells) located in almost every public square (campo). Because the city is surrounded by salt water, Venetians built elaborate filtering systems: the entire square was paved with a slight slope leading to stone grates. Rainwater would flow through these grates into a deep pit filled with layers of river sand, which acted as a natural filter. The purified water would then collect in a central brick-lined cistern, where it could be drawn up using a well-head. At its peak, the city had over 6,000 of these wells. The city even had a dedicated "Water Magistrate" to ensure the wells remained uncontaminated. In the late 19th century, this ancient system was replaced by a modern aqueduct—a 5-mile-long underwater pipeline that brings fresh water from the mainland (near the Brenta River) directly to the city's homes and fountains. Today, while the historic well-heads remain as beautiful decorative features of Venice's squares, they are no longer in use, as the city is fully connected to the Italian national water grid.