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Dolo was the most popular mainland subject among eighteenth-century Venetian vedutisti. The village was closely tied to the activities of Venetian nobles and citizens. It was an agricultural and trade centre, and a holiday venue, but it also served as a crossroads for hunting expeditions in the plains and valleys along the lagoon.
Following his definitive return to Venice in 1755, after living in England for about nine years, Canaletto constantly made use of his prints executed in the 1740s. The present painting takes up the composition of the etching entitled Le Porte del Dolo, which portrays the old lock, viewed from the bridge under which the burchiello (a Venetian wherry) passed.
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