The upside-down forest: why is Venice called this? The nickname "upside-down forest" is related to the engineering technique used to build the city. Venice was constructed on a vast system of wooden piles that rise from the bottom of the lagoon to support the buildings.

This process transformed the city into a kind of submerged forest: thousands of wooden trunks are planted underwater, forming an invisible but crucial foundation for the structures above. Instead of growing upwards, as a traditional forest would, these piles sink downwards into the water and the muddy ground, creating a solid base on which to build.