It's hard to imagine, but many structures in Venice today are still standing on 1000-year-old wood piles! Venice, on the other hand, began sinking as soon as it was established. The weight of the city pulled down on the dirt and muck that it was constructed on from the start, squeezing out water and compacting the earth. By the 17th century, there were signs that the soil was becoming thin underneath parts of the city. The problem grew worse over time. As Venice became more prosperous, it attracted people who wanted to live there, but didn't have any land themselves. So they bought up property near the lagoon and had them transported to shore, where they built small houses on top. After a few years, when those buildings proved profitable, they did it again and again until there were hundreds of these "superblocks" sitting on pilings. This is how most of Venice's center was built: by piling money up ahead of time, then hiring builders to construct homes out of wood that would later be replaced with brick or stone. It's amazing that so much architecture survived given the conditions under which it was built. As soon as a house was built on pilings, it started draining water into the lagoon, which caused problems for people who owned property near these new drains. The city officials tried to fix this by putting in pipes and building new streets, but it wasn't enough.