Manholes and Sewers

My fascination with manhole covers started in Rome, that obscene city where everything from doorknobs to manhole covers are beautifully adorned making the most ordinary functional item a work of art.

I was flipping through this book to find inspiration for my metal labels, and discovered some interesting useless info: when manhole covers were first made they had to have surface interest, but not just to look pretty. The reason for having the patterns was to provide grip for pedestrians and horses so neither could slip across the smooth surface. A very logical / boring explanation! I still believe that they were front doors commissioned by wealthy cockroaches and mutants to keep out the humans.