Venice
If ever there was a city that could be described as “bewitching” and “ethereal,” Venice is it.
Hoping to escape marauding Huns, Goths and Vandals as the Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century, refugees built a little settlement they called Venice on tiny islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. By the 12th century, Venice was the wealthiest and most powerful city-state in Europe, controlling the Mediterranean and all European trade with the East. Its merchant-aristocrats lavished their wealth on palaces and churches, art and music, creating a city that is truly like no other.
Now, seawater laps at the foot of thousand-year-old houses— and sometimes rises above the doorsteps—but the glorious palaces and romantic canals enchant visitors just as they have for centuries.
Visit the most famous plaza in Italy, St. Mark’s Square, and the Doge’s Palace. Venetians elected their first doge, or duke, in AD 697 and began building the palace around AD 800.