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Venice came into being after the Lombard hordes invaded Northern Italy in AD 568. The Romans who lived in the cities of this area retreated onto hundreds of small islands that lay just off the coast of the Adriatic Sea. They built their houses and other buildings on wooden beams called "pilings." To connect the islands, they built hundreds of bridges. Most of these bridges are arched so that boats can pass under them. As a result, many of the "streets" of Venice are actually waterways.
Later, these surviving Romans formed a republic. The government encouraged commerce, and Venice soon developed into an important commercial hub.
Today, Venice is a world-famous tourist attraction because of the canals that form many of its "streets." Boats called "gondolas" take people from one area of the city to another. The commercial spirit of Venice lives on today in the busy Rialto market. There, tourists can find all sorts of goods on sale.
威尼斯成立于公元568年伦巴第人入侵意大利北部之后。这一地区居住在城市中的罗马人退至位于亚得里亚海边的成百上千的小岛上。他们把房屋和其他建筑修建在称为“桩子”的木头桁条上。为了连接这些小岛，他们又修建了数以百计的桥梁。其中，大部分的桥都是拱形的，这样船就可以从桥下通过。因此，许多威尼斯的“街道”实际上是水路。
后来，这些幸存下来的罗马人建立了一个共和国。政府鼓励经商，威尼斯很快就发展成一个重要的商业中心。
今天，威尼斯成为一个旅游景点，以其众多的“街道”而闻名于世，这些街道实际上是运河。被称为“刚朵拉”的平底小船可以将人们从城市的一处带到另一处。现今，威尼斯的商业气息可从里亚尔托的市场上窥见一斑。在那儿，游人们可以买到各种各样的商品。