Hugo Has Arrived (2)

Once, there was a group of exiles rejected by the world who fled their homes in the Roman cities of the north and east, escaping into a vast, flat lagoon.

(A lagoon refers to a body of shallow seawater separated from the open ocean by sand spits, sandbars, or coral reefs.)

Fresh water from inland rivers and salt water from the Adriatic Sea converged and mingled here, while the rivers brought in vast amounts of organic matter, creating a resource-rich fishing ground.

At high tide, this place was a collection of small islands. At low tide, it was a series of shoals divided by river channels.

Islands formed by gravel and river deposits helped protect the lagoon from the sea; pine trees grew densely upon them.

The shoals were covered in reeds and weeds, home to a multitude of animals and fish. This desolate marshland was far less lifeless than it appeared.

Though not far from the center of Roman civilization—the Italian Peninsula—it was truly a desolate place rarely visited by man.

It was, without a doubt, a perfect sanctuary for seclusion, filled only with the chirping of insects, the calls of birds, and the sound of wind and waves.

The exiles were irresistibly drawn to a source of light. They discovered an island, and then a voice like a surging tide told them:

"This is the Promised Land of God."

Indeed! There was a Promised Land. This is one of the most well-known origin stories of Venice.

Hugo naturally knew this, and even knew of Venice's former glory and its eventual decline.

The "Queen of the Adriatic" had by now become a "prisoner" of the Austrian Empire. The Venetians lived in dire straits, with commerce shrinking and the people's livelihood in ruins.

These were the common descriptions found in