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A thought.

If Venice survives as a small independent European state and avoids becoming swallowed by Austria or a unifying Italy, what happens to the city of Venice in the modern, post-1900 era? [1] OTL the inhabitants of the historical city of Venice only number about 60,000, although there are another 31,000 on other lagoon islands and some 176,000 on the mainland "terrafirma" parts of the commune of Venice. Probably as the capital of an independent state rather than a regional capital within Italy Venice would be larger today - but would the lagoon city remain a somewhat waterlogged and depopulated "old town" while by far the greater expansion would happen on the mainland? Or would the Venetian do a Holland on the Lagoon and make more of it into useable land? Or - St. Mark prevent - would the capital of the territorial Venetian _state_ actually move somewhere else than Venice the city? What do you think?

Bruce

[1] Assuming of course a pre-1900 POD
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