Earth Tales

VENICE: A GLORIOUS CITY BUILT ON MUD FLATS

Venice was established because the people on the mainland of Italy were fearful of invaders. As Rome declined in power (about the 5th century AD), invading tribes such as the Visigoths, Lombards and Huns roared into Italy. There was killing, raping, looting and burning of towns and villages. It seemed that these barbarian groups were everywhere.

The people of Veneto near the site of Venice knew that these tribal invaders were not experienced in the handling of boats.
They decided to move to a cluster of islands offshore. Shoals (shallow water areas) and sandbanks easily kept the barbarian's boats from successfully invading these islands.

According to tradition, a defensive town was established by 452 AD that would become Venice. The Venetians drove wooden piles into the water and built homes and public buildings on them. Canals became roadways and a world-renowned merchant center developed. From mud flats a unique and fabulously wealthy city arose.

Geography made it possible for people to turn mud flats into the 'Queen of the Adriatic'.

Reference: Menen, Aubrey Venice (Great Cities) Time-Life Books, Amsterdam, 1976