What is believed
to be true is true.
Venice has always had a special relationship with its legends: "Of course, only those stories that people want to hear become legends. What is true is what is believed to be true."
Venice rises from the water and is - a miracle within the miracle of creation - Christian from the very beginning. In the case of Venice, it is impossible to draw a clear line between fact and fable.
While no one today would seriously claim that Venice is God's chosen city, in the past the Venetians did not find this notion at all far-fetched.
Venice saw itself as the city of God and, as St. Augustine prophesied, as the heavenly Jerusalem.
Venice was not built, but rose fully formed from the waters. As an extraordinary city, Venice invented an equally extraordinary origin for itself. In this self-confidence, never having been a vassal of foreign powers, the Pope was defiantly defied.
And when the going got tough, a patron saint of their own was even invented.
There are no written records of Venice's early history. This, however, did not stop the resourceful Venetians from inventing their own founding date. Because, as people knew then as they do now: You need a compelling story!
And so they settled on March25, 421, the month of creation. Incidentally, in all official documents, the year also begins with the month of March - just as the relic of Saint Mark arrived in Venice.
Of course, it didn't arrive there by chance. The Venetians had previously stolen it from Alexandria in a spectacular coup, keeping it a secret. But what wouldn't one do for a good story...
Early settlements have been dated back to Roman times. The sea forced the settlers to settle in areas that were not prone to flooding (severe floods occurred in the 4th and 5th centuries, then again in the 9th century and from the 11th to the 13th centuries). The municipality of Rivoalto (civitas Rivoalti) became a fortified town center (castrum) surrounded by agricultural settlements.
The designation of the squares as fields (campi) or small fields (campielli) thus stems from an agricultural tradition. Even the city's layout followed a grid pattern corresponding to Roman field parcelling.
The question of Venice's origins concerns the issue of continuity between the Roman era and the Middle Ages. (Excavations in Torcello)
Venice thus belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence, was subject to the governor (exarch) of Ravenna, and only became independent at a later date due to its growing power. Before Venice even existed, the province of Venetia on the mainland, the 10th region of the Roman Empire, was already populated. When Altino and Concordia fell, large groups of refugees sought shelter in the coastal and lagoon regions. (Grado-Caorle-Chioggia)
Venice exploited its peripheral location within the Eastern Roman Empire and gradually attained extensive autonomy.