The transition from wood to iron production in the Arsenal of Venice

The transition from wood production to iron production in the Arsenal of Venice between the 18th and 19th centuries, curated by Pasquale Ventrice, promoted by Ateneo Veneto. The paradigm shift between two conceptual maps of knowledge in shipbuilding: from craftsmanship to technical knowledge.

The wooden ships (vessels and frigates).

The structure of the wooden hull and its deformations (insecting and raising); identification of the causes.

Know how to craft The craftsman does not need writing, but the skill of the hand; (to describe details a shoe does not mean to know how to make a shoe).

Archive documents, oral tradition and craftsmanship.

technical know Know how to do it (technical ways of doing it)

Knowledge of the technologist know who can do (evaluation and selection of technical skills).

The technical theory of the beam and its strict inapplicability to wood.

The Galilean paradigm in its development from wood to iron: beams and frames made of homogeneous materials (iron and steel).

Simone Strati and the first attempts to give continuity to technical and practical knowledge: the school of naval architecture in Arsenale.

The role of memory and the history of technology and work in the understanding of the operational reality developed by the craft and technical systems