THE CITY THAT TREES BUILT (EUROPEAN ALDER)

About 1600 years ago, a group of refugees settled on a mucky swath of land that would one day be known as Venice. What followed is one of the greatest marvels of human engineering: a city built entirely on trees in water. Enter European alder (Alnus glutinosa), an ordinary tree with an extraordinary role in history.

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Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold
Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals
Episode cover photo by Bj.schoenmakers

Additional Reading:

The European Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Around the World in 80 Trees
How Venice Was Built On a Swamp
History of Venice
An investigation into preservation of wood from Venice foundations