Venezia

Venezia, commonly known in English as Venice, is the capital of the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. It is built on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by more than 400 bridges, within the Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. Its historic center and its lagoon are a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for urban planning, architecture, and cultural heritage.

Venezia traces its origins to a settlement in the 5th century, when refugees fled mainland invasions and settled on the islands. By the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, it developed into a powerful maritime republic, known as La Serenissima, with a vast trading network across the Mediterranean and the Byzantine world. Its ships, banking, and diplomacy funded monumental architecture and arts until its decline after the Napoleonic era; it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

The city is renowned for its canals and palazzi. The Grand Canal is the main waterway, bordered by Gothic and Renaissance buildings. The most famous landmarks include St. Mark's Square and Basilica, the Doge's Palace, and the Rialto Bridge. Glassmaking on Murano and lace on Burano are traditional crafts. The lagoon's fragile ecosystem and delicate foundations require ongoing preservation.

Today Venezia relies heavily on tourism and supports cultural institutions such as the Biennale di Venezia and the Venice Film Festival. Transportation is primarily by water; people move via vaporetto (public water buses) and gondolas. Water management issues, including acqua alta, pose recurring challenges to daily life and preservation.

Conservation efforts focus on protecting historic buildings from rising damp, subsidence, and floods while balancing the needs of residents and visitors.