Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump

Idrovora Ca Vendramin Pianta Fondazioni Dewatering pump of Ca' Vendramin Plan of the foundations

Pianta del pian terreno per il fabbricato personale. Plan of the ground floor of the building created for the personnel

Pianta del primo piano del fabbricato per il personale. Plan of the first floor of the building created for the personnel.

Prospetto del fabbricato per il personale. Perspective plan of the building created for the personnel.

Prospetto a valle del complesso (07A1437). Upstream perspective plan of the building

Prospetto a monte del complesso. Downstream perspective drawing of the building

Complesso di Ca Vendramin nel suo insieme. Perspective plan “from the chimney stack” of the building

Sezione verticale sull’asse dei bacini. Vertical section on the axis of the basins

Sezione verticale sull’asse dei bacini, con vista verso la ciminiera. Vertical section on the axis of the basins with view towards the chimney stack.

Sezione trasversale locali caldaie e magazzini, con descrizione di particolari costruttivi. Cross section of boiler rooms and warehouses, with description of construction details

Dettaglio della porta d’ingresso al locale caldaie. Detail of the entrance door to the boiler room

Dettagli dei rosoni e delle finestre per locale caldaie e sala macchine. Details of the rose windows and of the windows for the boiler room and the engine room

Dettaglio della porta d’ingresso alla sala macchine. Detail of the entrance door to the engine room.

Pianta della sala macchine e dei locali caldaie e annessi magazzini. Plan of the engine room, boiler rooms and annexed warehouses,

Disegno di una delle motrici tipo Woolf, 1900. Drawing of one of the Woolf-type engines, 1900

Rappresentazione schematica di una delle motrici tipo Woolf a valvole con collegamento alle volanti. Schematic representation of one of the Woolf engines, 1900.

Rappresentazione schematica di una delle motrici tipo Woolf a valvole con collegamento alla caldaia. Schematic representation of one of the Woolf engines, 1900.

Sezioni trasversali delle macchine, 1900. Cross sections of the machinery,1900.

Particolari delle valvole, 1900 Details of the valves, 1900.

Particolari delle volanti collegate alle motrici, 1900. Mechanical details, 1900

Particolari delle caldaie, 1900. Details of the boilers, 1900.

Sezioni e prospetti delle caldaie, 1900. Sections and perspective drawings of the boilers, 1900.

Particolari delle pompe centrifughe, 1900. Details of the centrifugal pumps, 1900.

Sezione d’insieme di macchine e caldaie, 1900. Overview of machinery and boilers,1900.

NAME: Idrovora di Ca’ Vendramin (Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump)

LOCATION: Ca’ Vendramin, Taglio di Po (Ro)

ORIGINAL CONSORTIUM OF BELONGIN: Consorzio Idraulico dell’Isola di Ariano, formerly known as Consorzio agli Scoli dell’isola di Ariano (1815-1929)

DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: 1900-1905

DESIGNER: Domenico Donzelli – Antonio Zecchettini

HISTORICAL NOTES:

After multiple requests of the municipalities of Ariano, Corbola and Taglio di Po, an initial plan was drawn up for the restoration of Isola di Ariano, by the civil engineering department of Rovigo in 1886. On the 15^th of November 1895, engineer, Domenico Donzelli, from the civil engineering department drew up a new general plan and consortium engineer, Antonio Zecchettini, made important changes to make it work. The project, which was carried out between 1900 and 1916, involved the construction of a primary dewatering pump in Ca’ Vendramin and two subsidiary dewatering pumps in Argana and Cappellona. After they obtained the Ministerial Decree of Approval (in March 1900), the first drainage work was set in motion, with the arrangement the canal network which was needed to bring water to the new plant. The construction of the main dewatering pump, which was contracted out to the company Luigi Medici (Rome), started in September 1900 and ended in November 1905. Ca’ Vendramin was built with the bricks from the Camisotti factory (Santa Maria di Punta), while the mechanical components were assembled in the workshop Cordella (Adria) that installed four Neville centrifugal pumps powered by ten boilers to each pump.

As for the subsidiary dewatering pumps, a current generator designed by Zecchettini and supplied by AEG (Genoa) was built: Ca’ Vendramin was the very first plant in Italy to produce electricity that enabled other plants to work.

In 1921, as a result of a few small essential changes, two of the four main plant pumps were converted to electrical power.

From the moment it was built, the dewatering pump received a great deal of interest and gained attention from Italian and foreign technicians, indeed in 1924 it was praised by a commission of Dutch experts and in 1925 it was presented at an important exhibition in Naples.

Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump worked until the end of the 1960s, when it was definitively abandoned because of the land subsidence of the area (some technical checks carried out in December 1954 proved that, in just 5 years, the plant had sunk 40 centimetres).

The structure of Ca’ Vendramin has not changed over time: the central body still stands in the shape of a double T, where there was once the workshop and the warehouse, you can see a tall chimney and the living quarters for the engine personnel .

Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump is currently home to the Museo Regionale della Bonifica, a museum that was created as a result of the Decision of the Regional Council no. 5471 of 17 October 1986 and which from 2010 is managed by the Fondazione Ca’ Vendramin.

Index

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Project funded by Regione del Veneto – L.R. 5/09/1984 n. 50, art. 44 – DGRV n. 618 del 11 maggio 2021 e n.1411 del 12 ottobre 2021 – Decreto del Direttore della Direzione Beni Culturali e Sport n. 325 del 27.10.2021

Photos Alberto Bonatti

Consorzio di Bonifica Delta del Po

Consorzio di Bonifica Delta del Po

Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump | Due Consorzi, Due Archivi – Storia del Territorio

Ca’ Vendramin dewatering pump