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Why build a city of stone in the middle of a muddy lagoon where it is destined, eventually, to sink into oblivion?
Barbarians.
As barbarian hordes feeding off the fall of Rome overran the Italian peninsula in the 5th century, some locals in the Veneto region found it safest to settle where no barbarian in his right mind would come looking for them (or their potential plunder)—in the middle of the water.
Other islands in the Venetian lagoon already supported fishing communities, but in short order young Venice managed to establish itself as a shipping center, electing its first doge (ducal ruler of an republican government) in 697.
Venice built trade ties with Byzantium to the east and began its inexorable rise as a commercial seafaring power.
By the 13th century, Venice had conquered many of its neighbors, including Byzantium.
From its formal founding until Napoleon conquered the city in 1797, Venice remained a proud, self-governed republic for a record-setting 1,100 years—the longest surviving independent state in the history the world.
Maybe building a city of stone in the middle of a muddy lagoon wasn't such a bad idea.
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This article was written by Reid Bramblett and was last updated in July 2013
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All information was accurate at the time.
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