Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (b.25Feb1707 – d.06Feb1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays.
Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty. His plays offered his contemporaries images of themselves, often dramatizing the lives, values, and conflicts of the emerging middle classes.

He relates in his Memoirs that a considerable part of his time was spent in reading Greek and Latin comedies. He had already begun writing at this time and, in his third year, he composed a libellous poem (Il colosso) in which he ridiculed the daughters of certain Pavian families. He was expelled from the school and had to leave the city (1725).
He studied law at Udine, and eventually took his degree at University of Modena.
Educated as a lawyer, and holding lucrative positions as secretary and counsellor, he seemed, indeed, at one time to have settled down to the practice of law, but following an unexpected summons to Venice, after an absence of several years; he changed his career, and thenceforth he devoted himself to writing plays and managing theatres.
[¬ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Goldoni]

'From the very beginning, the Venetian Lagoon could provide plenty of fish to the Venetians to feed themselves.
However, something just as important was missing entirely: there was no trace of drinkable water.

In the past, and still today in some areas of the world, the lack of water could be solved through the construction of draw-wells. Thanks to such wells, people could access underground water resources.
However, Venice was built on a swampland area in a salty lagoon, and the only kind of water underground was saltwater!'
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

'How could Venetian have fresh water in Venice?
The only way for Venetians to have fresh water in Venice was by filtering rainwater and collecting it at the bottom of Venetian wells, which work differently from wells around the rest of the world.
To do so, Venetian developed a smart process that involved a few important steps.

The first step of the process was to find a big empty surface. This step is the reason why Venetian wells are found exclusively in squares and in courtyards...'

'The idea was to dig 5 to 6 meters deep (16-20 feet), and use clay to create a thick water-resistant layer at the bottom.
Then, Venetians filled these deep holes with stones and sand from the riverbeds of rivers nearby on the mainland.
Finally, Venetians built 2 or 4 gutters symmetrically around the well to drain the rainwater falling on the square and the roofs of the buildings all around it.
This solution is the reason why squares in Venice are not perfectly even: the ground around every gutter has a bit of a slope to help the water naturally flow towards the gutter and be drained.'
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

'Once the rain fell on the 'campi' of Venice, the water naturally flowed towards the guts and was drained.
The water was then filtrated mechanically by flowing through the sand and stones underground and would stop once it reached the layer of waterproof clay at the bottom.
The bricks used for the 'chimneys' of the wells were very porous. These bricks, called 'pozzali', allowed then the water to filter through them and fill in the 'chimney'.
Venetians could then collect water at the bottom of the chimney through a bucket, just like one would do with any other kind of well.'

The Republic always promoted and coördinated the creation of wells. Proof of that are the decrees that the Great Council wrote in 1322, 1424, and 1768 ordering the construction respectively of 50, 30 and 55 new public wells all over the city!
Water was crucial, therefore the use and supervision of public wells were very strict.
Indeed, the Venetian Superintendency supervised all wells, and local priests and block leaders were the only people with keys to access the wells assigned to them.
Venetians could access wells twice per day, in the morning and in the evening, at the ringing of the 'wells bells'.
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

'Being a member of the specialized corporation aforementioned and called confraternita dei Pozzeri, or well-makers confraternity, was a prestigious title. This honour, along with the specific knowledge and job expertise, was passed on from fathers to sons.
However, there was one condition to it: every Pozzere had to vow to build wells only for the Venetian Republic!'
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

'Despite the presence of a great number of wells in Venice, the growing Venetian population meant a growing demand for water.
This led, in 1386, to the creation of the “corporazione degli acquaroli”, a corporation whose role was to ensure that the city had enough water at all times.
In case of need, members of this corporation would row to the Brenta, a river on the mainland nearby, fill their boats with freshwater, row it back to Venice, and fill up the wells again with the use of wooden pipes.'

'The Acquaroli” had the permission to sell water for direct consumption, just like modern street vendors would do.
Since the 'Acquaroli' were cruising through most of the city to fill in the many Venetian wells, they started also collecting garbage.
They kept the same type of boats, now called 'scoazzere', but began storing the freshwater in closed barrels to preserve its purity.'
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

'One of these laws made it mandatory for the orders to give access to its wells at specific times of the day to all Venetian citizens.
This brilliant system that relied on public, private and religious wells, was carefully maintained, and strictly monitored the access to and the use of water is one of the most important factors that allowed Venice to grow and thrive for many centuries.
When the Serenissima fell, the lack of care of the new rulers led this efficient but delicate water system to collapse.'

"After the collapse, the solution to the needs of the population, could be met through the construction of a more modern and efficient system: an aqueduct!
The construction of the Venice aqueduct started in 1881 with the lay-down of a cast iron pipe (800mm diameter) passing under the Lagoon and connecting Moranzani to Venice.
The works were finished in 1884 and authorities celebrated the success by building a fountain in the middle of Saint Mark’s square!'
[¬ veneziaautentica.com/venetian-wells-venice/]

Daniele Manin (b.13May1804 – d.22Sep1857) was an Italian patriot, statesman and leader of the Risorgimento in Venice.Many Italian historians consider him to be an important figure in Italian unification.

Daniele Manin was born Daniele Fonseca in Ramo Astori, Venice, where his birthplace is commemorated by a plaque.
Samuele converted to Christianity from the Jewish faith in 1759 and took the name Manin because Ludovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice, sponsored his conversion.
Manin studied law at Padua and then practiced at the bar in Venice, his native city.
A man of great learning and a profound jurist, from an early age he held a deep hatred for Austria

So I googled this mystery and came across an explanation: 'Just a few decades ago, Venice was full of furry cats. They had their own city, one that included roofs of buildings and secret walled gardens. You’d smell the pee they marked their territories with in the back alleys. But in the space of those thirty years, the street cats of Venice have all but vanished.

For centuries, Venetians lived side-by-side with cats. They were brought in by traders from the Middle East and cherished by the local population for their usefulness in keeping away rats, in houses as well as on merchant ships. Special breeds were introduced in the 13th century that were especially adept hunters. They were even credited for helping to save the city from the plague of 1348 by keeping disease carrying rats at bay.
Famous cats were even a part of Venetian history.
The cat of Doge Francesco Morosini was brought everywhere with the naval commander, including into war. Nini, a white cat who lived at the Caffe dei Frari was an international celebrity and he even had a wake held in his honor when he died in 1894.

A British lady named Helena Sanders arrived in Venice in 1965, when many of the cats of the city were sick and in need of organized care. Her name was Helena Sanders. She came to be an advocate for Venetian street cats and Sanders was among the first in Italy to practice TNR, or trap-neuter-return.
In the 1950s, animal welfare activists in the U.K began to trap alley cats in order to sterilize and neuter them before returning them to their outdoor homes. This was not only a way to eradicate diseases, but it also allowed them to control the population.
Just 70 years ago, it was unheard of to have a cat live entirely indoors. It just wasn’t possible until the mid-20th century. The development of refrigeration and canned cat food meant that cats didn’t have to hunt. The marketing of cat litter began in the 1960s, so they wouldn’t need to go out for the bathroom either.
The cat and the dog were entering the bourgeois family circle in these decades as the family pet.

In just 30 years, the city has lost half of its residents, going from 120.000 to about about 55.000 currently. Meanwhile, the number of visitors has skyrocketed up to 20 million annually, half of which don’t stay even one night. Along with these demographic shifts have come social and cultural changes...
Local bakeries, fish markets and butchers are slowly encroached upon by easy and quick supermarket culture. Artisan boutiques are closing and dime-a-dozen souvenir shops are popping up.
The alley cats who roamed free and owned the city’s back streets represent a kind of wildness and autonomy that Venetians have lost.'
For the long read see theculturetrip.com/ - - - /what-happened-to-venices-street-cats