Hydraulic Engineers and Antiquarians: Political Use of the Past in Nineteenth-Century Venice

Abstract

abstract: The article analyzes the relationship between hydraulics and history in the nineteenth century, often described as a period when the humanities and the sciences split into "two separate cultures." Venice, amphibious city par excellence, is a good starting point for exploring the use of history in water management debates. In the early nineteenth century, humanists and hydraulic engineers came together through multiple disciplinary approaches and in constant confrontation with the Republic of Venice's water policies. In the following decades, while making extensive use of history, these engineers realized and emphasized the diversity of both disciplines' methodologies. This evolution—seen through the writings of renowned hydraulic engineer at the time Pietro Paleocapa—illustrates how history was no longer a source of empirical knowledge but came to be used for rhetorical and political purposes.