The Rialto fish market in Venice is an incredible piece of history, dating back to the 1200s. Sometimes when you're in Venice, it feels like little has changed (other times, conversely, you're well aware of the march of time!). 

Once the fish market is close to closing, what we hear is the sound of workers shovelling up the ice and leftovers from the ground to be taken away. 

For hundreds of years, this has gone on almost every day of the year - with every shovel of ice, there's a piece of Venetian history to go with it.

Recorded in Venice, Italy in December 2025 by Cities and Memory.