In the heart of the Venetian lagoon, a submerged area has revealed a secret: a brick and wood tank containing about 300 oyster shells, dating back to the first century AD. The discovery, which occurred in the Lio Piccolo locality of Cavallino-Treporti, stands as a unicum in the Italian archaeological landscape and offers a new key to understanding the lagoon before Venice.

The archaeological site, dated thanks to sophisticated scientific analysis, appears to be a vivarium, or rather an ostriarium, that is, a structure intended for the maintenance of oysters before consumption, an ancient form of shellfish farming that fits perfectly into the context of Roman maritime villas.