Venice was the capital of the Republic of Venice until 1797 and with more than 180,000 inhabitants one of the largest European cities. Until the 16th century, it was one of the largest trading cities which traded between Western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Venice engineered most commercial and warships.
Venice and its lagoon have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987. They especially inspired artists and Venice became one of the most visited tourist destinations.
The influx of tourists led to an unusual action by the city administration in 1999: posters warned about Venice. This campaign was aimed at day-trippers who bring little to the city other than being a burden. This poster campaign by Oliviero Toscani warned of the ugly side of Venice with graphic photos of rats, polluted canals and decaying palaces in order to deter those visitors who expected a postcard idyll. In 2015, Mayor Brugnaro considered restricting access to St. Mark's Square and also giving locals special access to the clogged vaporetti. Because while mass tourism and especially day-trip and cruise tourism continue to increase, the number of inhabitants in the lagoon city is continually falling, second home ownership is increasing sharply, local supplies are collapsing and quality tourism is reporting vacancies.
On the west coast of Sicily, in the middle of the naturally protected lagoon Lo Stagnone, lies the small island of San Pantaleo, around eight kilometres from Marsala, which was known far beyond Sicily 2000 years ago under the Greek name Motya (Italian Mozia and Sicilian Mozzia).
On our way, following the A57 to Aquileia, which was accompanied by really heavy rain showers, we passed the junction to Venice, where a stopover that was not previously planned took place.
The interested queries of some readers on the subject of "Roman roads" prompt us to the following summary of further information.