Outdoor bench made with briccole from the Venice lagoon.

Outdoor bench made with briccole from the Venice lagoon. The briccola (in Venetian bricoła) or also bricola is a nautical structure used to indicate the waterways (canals) in the lagoons of Venice, Marano and Grado. It is made up of two or more large wooden poles tied together and placed in the water, driven into the seabed. The same structure in the international maritime nomenclature is also called duc d’albe or dalben or dolphin.

In the port area, the briccole, in the sense of towing or block, can be made of steel and concrete and are called “mooring dolphins” if equipped with mooring hooks, mooring briccole, or “breasting” or “berthing dolphins” if equipped of “fender” for the mooring of ships, mooring briccole.

In the lagoon area, the briccola differs from the pole in its shape (it has several poles while the pałina has a single pole) and in its function (it is mainly an indicator of the way while the pałina is used for mooring boats). Its purpose is to signal to the boats the limit of the deepest part of the lagoon, which can be navigated without risk, guiding them on their path and avoiding them being stranded in areas of shallow water. Signposts for signaling or indicating directions can be installed on the briccole.

In Venice a characteristic briccola consisting of five poles and a higher central pole is called DAMA, this type of briccola is used to indicate the beginning of a lagoon channel.

• Date : 2011