Venetian Lagoon

Part of what makes Venice so enchanting is that it is an island. This island is part of an archipelago which is in the Venetian Lagoon. You can say the it is precisely because of the Venetian Lagoon that Venice came to be. The shallow lagoon became a very good place for people to live. There were islands on the lagoon and it was possible to build buildings on them. The lagoon itself served as a natural defense against invaders, after all, who would want to go all the way out to the sea to attack a small island? Because of this security, Venice prospered.

Eventually, the lagoon was engineered so that it doesn’t turn into a marsh. This was made possible by draining water from the island and making them dry and permanently habitable. Surprisingly, there are a number of artificial islands here. It is because of this amazing engineering that the lagoon was also included in the UNESCO World Heritage site list under the name Venice and its Lagoon. I was just outside the Piazza San Marco and there were a lot of boats parked outside city. Looking at the lagoon, you probably won’t be able to tell that it is a lagoon either. The shallow nature of the lagoon gives it a nice color as well.

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