For an all too brief two days last week, I forwent the expense of the vaporetti and took on the City of Venice by foot to work off the trinity – wine, cheese, and chocolate that is.

With waves gently lapping onto the stone steps lining the Grand Canal, this is the place where our journey to better understand societal evolution leaps into the modern era. Venice has been a center for trade between Europe and Asia for centuries, leveraging its geographical position, as well as its accessibility…by water.

Venice is not just built on the sea, but its livelihood is truly interdependent with the sea. Its business people and residents have skill sets ingrained in their society and culture that take decades, or more, to acquire here in the ‘normalcy’ of the westernized world. We should be taking notes…fifty years from now many of our cities may mirror Venice’s intimate relationship with water. There is no coastline, no beach…just a fully functional city – and water.

Walking through the narrow, maze-like alleys, it is hard to place yourself at any single point in Venice’s history…it is such a unique place casting timeless messages about the state of our world, and the true aquatic nature of our species.