Archaeologic Mestre
(Text written by the Author mentioned beneath only for the site mes3.altervista.org, all rights reserved, forbidden reproduction with every mean and most of all in other web-sites)
1- Church of Saint Laurence: in the subsoil of the church-square opposite the Church was found a cemetery (often in the past the cemeteries were close to the places of worship).
2- Ferretto Square: during the works in the main square of Mestre were found several pieces of cups, plates, crocks, glasses and glass bottles, dating back to a period between the 12nd and the 13rd century. Moreover were found ruins of several houses made with the "altinelle", typical old venetians bricks, and some areas used fro metallurgic works.
3- Pescheria Vecchia Street: along the river Marzenego were found some locks built by bricks, landing places and quays, present there since the 10th century.
4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- Castle of Mestre: remains of the second Castle of Mestre (14th century), in particolar the Tower of the Clock at the end of Ferretto Square, the Provvederia in Palazzo St., the lowest part of an angular Tower and two parts of the walls in Spalti St., the remains of the Keep in Ponci Park (indicated at nr. 10), the ruins of the walls in the small park of Torre Belfredo St. Instead, are in the subsoil and therefore cannot be seen the foundations of the Tower Belfredo in the homonymous street and the remains of a post-medieval bridge found in Caneve Street.
10- Saint Girolamo Street: in the past the street was crossed by a canal, covered with earth in the second half of the 20th century. To reach the Church of Saint Girolamo, the most ancient inside the walls of the second Castle of Mestre one should cross one of the three bridges existing at the age. Between Saint Girolamo St. and the Church at the west and Ponci Park at the east there's the Keep which we spoke about above.
11- Saint Pius X Street: there were the moat of the Castle and some houses.
12- Palazzo Street.
13- Maestri del Lavoro Small Square.
14- Manin Street: There, an old branch, then covered with earth, of river Marzenego was found. In that branch there wer two dams, of wood and bricks, one of Middle-age and the other previous. The finding of several levels of pottery of the Bronze Age, human and animal bones, carved flints and vegetal fibres lead one to believe that in the past the floods of river Marzenego could be destructive and uncontainable.
15- Castelvecchio Street (that means Old Castle St.): today only this name of a street recalls the existence of the first Castle of Mestre (XI secolo) in the subsoil of the Hospital Umberto I. Unfortunately the modern walls and enclosures don't allow to see the Bridge of Old Castle, still existing, and in the underground of the Hospital, beyond the remains of an ancient monastery partially built on it, probably ruins of the Old Castle and maybe also the shape of the Roman castrum (fortress) could be found.
16- Villa Ca' Zen: in the place of Quattro Cantoni, that means Four Corners (Mestre north).
17- Olivolo Street (near the By-pass of Mestre): paleovenetina settlement found in 1996, and bating back to the middle-recent Bronze Age (15th-13th century B.C.): vases, jugs, bowls,...
18- Tassini Street (a by-street of Saint Mark Avenue): ruins of a rural building (end of the 1st century B.C. - end of the 1st century A.D.), probably destroyed by a flood of branch of river Marzenego that maybe in ancient times flew near. In particular bricks, pantles and amphorae were found.
Other archaeologic areas of Mestre aren't included in the route. Let's recall:
-- Grey-black pieces of pottery of the kind "polada" dating back to the age between Neolithic and Bronze Age (1200 B.C.) were found at Moranzani (Mestre south) at 2-3 feet of depth around 1960.
-- During the works to build the Commercial Center Coin at Barches, in 1963, a quite integral human skeleton and the skeleton of a wild boar three meters far were found.
(Text wroten by the Author mentioned beneath only for the site mes3.altervista.org, all rights reserved, forbidden reproduction with every mean and most of all in other web-sites)
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