This report deals with problems connected with the design and construction of two levees built on thick soft compressible soils in the Po Delta. Settlement and pore pressure measurements in foundation soils, taken for about four years during and after construction by means of complete geotechnical instrumentation, were compared with results obtained through various methods during both design and back-analysis phases. Back-analysis was carried out using numerical simulations with finite-element programs. Considerations of the problems of the global stability of the embankments during the various construction phases are also presented