I've been reading John Pemble's histiography of Venice, Venice Rediscovered (Oxford University Press, 1996). Pemble notes that in the 19th century, Venetian well-heads had become highly prized by collectors, particularly in Britain. He writes that in 1814, there were 5,000 well-heads in Venice. By 1856 - less than 50 years later - there were only 2,000 well-heads left in the city, and only 17 of these dated from the earliest, Byzantine era.
So where have the well-heads gone? I started searching the collection of London's marvellous Victoria & Albert Museum, and found four Venetian well heads...
