Water is fundamental in agriculture, and beside water that comes from the sky it is almost always necessary to use an "artificial one" for the irrigation of the fields. Idrovora (water scooping machine) means, from the ancient Greek, water-devourer. It was built for carrying water from a channel some meters below sea level, to another channel at a higher level, from where it is diverted into small channels and then brought into the fields.
The area of Cittanova, (on the northeast of Venice) has been reclaimed by the Consorzio di bonifica del Basso Piave, in the first years of 20th century, and in particular this "idrovora" was built in 1903. From that time, one pump is still in operation (more than a hundred years of working!), and the power-unit, shown in the panorama, is one of the first diesel engines installed in Veneto (about 1935), and was in use until 2003.