Venice is the Italian city known as the City of Canals, built across more than 100 islands in a lagoon.
The city lies in northeastern Italy on the Venetian Lagoon, connected to the Adriatic Sea. Its historic centre is linked by hundreds of bridges and divided by waterways, with the Grand Canal forming its principal water route.
Venice developed as a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Republic of Venice controlled important commercial routes and established a far-reaching trading network across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Gondolas are strongly associated with Venice, but the city also relies on public water buses called vaporetti. Venice is sometimes confused with Amsterdam, which also has famous canals, but Amsterdam is built on the mainland and its canals form a planned urban network rather than a lagoon city spread across islands.