ABSTRACT
There can be little doubt that there was at least one timely coincidence between the Treaty of Aachen and the birth of Venice. According to written sources, it was exactly then - in the year 810 - that Agnellus Particiaco became doge and the ducal seat was moved from Metamauco to Rivoalto. Although it may seem strange, it is precisely because of the scarcity of written documents that the beginnings of Venice appear nebulous and, consequently, almost mythical. There seems no doubt that much of the Venetian lagoon underwent active settlement between the late fourth and sixth centuries. The northern end of the lagoon shows more signs of fourth-century settlement, but as archaeological excavations have revealed, settlement may also have occurred in parts of the southern reaches, including the islets around Rivoalto. Historiography has offered different interpretations for this moment in time in Northern Italy.
