Street with a ditch down the middle, the Via del Fosso, in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. This ditch, originally a defensive moat built in 1376, played a pivotal role in Lucca’s economy and development of silk processing using hydraulic energy.
Lucca, Tuscany, Italy: Via del Fosso, Via dei Fossi, or simply “i Fossi”, a street that derives its name from a ditch in its centre. This ditch was originally a moat, built in 1376 to run along the outside perimeter of the city’s medieval walls. The moat’s purpose was to defend the eastern part of those walls - today almost completely disappeared. For centuries, Via del Fosso played a primary role in Lucca’s economy. Moat water was used as a driving force for processing silk and Lucca was the first place where techniques for large-scale processing with the use of hydraulic energy were developed. This allowed a qualitative improvement in the final product. Furthermore, it gave an important boost to the marketing of all silk-related products which enriched the manufacturing sector of the city. From the Middle Ages until 1600, raw silk was processed in small workshops or in homes in Lucca. The thread passed from skein to spool, was immersed in water, rinsed and dried. The Via del Fosso’s ‘ditch’ therefore became of strategic importance. Because of political upheavals, many of Lucca’s artisans emigrated to cities in northern Italy, such as Venice and Bologna. There they established and developed the silk trade and silk processing, spreading innovations conceived in Via del Fosso across Europe. Today, Via del Fosso’s architecture still reflects activities related to silk, with open roof terraces on the upper floors used for drying and with rooms covered by cross vaults on the ground floors that made possible the use of various mechanical devices powered by canal water. Lucca’s medieval walls were largely demolished when Renaissance walls were constructed in the 1500s and 1600s in response to expansionist moves by the Medici and advances in warfare techniques that had rendered the medieval walls obsolete.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Via del Fosso, Via dei Fossi, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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