The Venetian lagoon and it’s islands were first thought to have been inhabited during the 5th and 6th centuries AD by the inhabitants of Veneto following a series of invasions by barbarians. Initial settlements were comprised of small fishing villages built on top of wooden stakes driven down into the marshy ground.

It wasn’t long before before building became concentrated on the highest point of the lagoon : “Rivo Alto” - which later came to be known as “Rialto”. Slowly but surely the population increased until eventually the settlement became a republic unto itself. By 697 Venice had already established it's own form of government - with the election of the first of an eventual 118 doges (chief magistrates). The city's governors realised that no self-respecting republic of the time was complete without it's own patron saint and this problem was overcome in 828, when two Venetian merchants working in Alexandria managed to steal the bones of St. Mark. By 832 building of the first basilica to house St. Mark’s remains was well underway.

By 1095 Venice had accumulated a navy large enough to participate in Pope Urban II’s First Crusade to Jerusalem which proved to be a great success. At the beginning of the 13th century Venice was once again on the attack, this time with Doge Enrico Dandolo historically diverting a fourth crusade from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the hope of consolidating Venice's position as a great power. After a hard fought battle, the city eventually fell enabling the Venetians to seize full control of the extremely lucrative east-west trade routes. To this day, some of the treasures looted from Constantinople can be seen on display (such as the 4 bronze horses at the Basilica di San Marco).

Genoa, Venice's main rival, was well aware of the Venetians' rapid rise to power, and it wasn't before long before the two cities were at war. Despite a series of increasingly intensive battles neither side managed to gain the upper hand. By the mid 14th century, Venice had suffered a major setback with half the city's population being wiped out by the black death. However, despite this, in 1380 the Venetians recorded a historic victory defeating Genoa's navy at Chioggia.

Of course, nothing lasts forever, and despite having successfully made a number of alliances, things started to go wrong for Venice in 1453 when the Turks successfully recaptured Constantinople. Then just to compound matters, towards the end of the 15th century, Vasco Da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope effectively ending Venice's monopoly on trade. This was to mark the beginning of the end for Venice and it's empire, with rapid increases in corruption at home along with repeated plagues, fires and loss of territory overseas. In 1797 Venice's decline is complete as the city falls to Napolean, who trades Venice with the Austrians in return for Lombardy.

Still under Austrian rule, in 1846 the city is linked to the mainland for the first time with the building of a railway causeway. The Austrians' rule however never proved to be popular among Venetians. By the mid 19th century the city had rebelled, joining a large scale movement for Italian unification. In 1866 Venice finally becomes part of Italy and towards the end of the 19th century is developing rapidly into an industrial port.

Throughout the 20th century industry was becoming increasingly aware of the logistical discomfort in the historic centre of Venice, and it wasn't too long before businesses and people alike started to move to the mainland settlements of Marghera and Mestre......a trend that exists to this day. Following the Second World War, the port at Marghera became a hub for petrochemical, plastics and metallurgy industries employing thousands across the region. Today, with ever increasing legislation and sensibility towards the environment, these heavy industries are facing tough times. For those who remained back in the historic centre, tourism was now by far the largest employer.

Venice today, is a city facing several problems perhaps most notably that of flooding. In 1966 a combination of factors brought about a catatastrophic flood of almost 2m above the norm. Ever since, local, national and international bodies have been researching and putting forward possible solutions. Only in recent years has a major project actually gone from the drawing board into action. It is hoped that the 'Mose' project will protect the city from a repeat of 1966 although for how long no-one knows.