This 1985 book is the study of the history of a group of villages, and one large town, that lie in the lagoons that surround Venice. Although written by an architect, it is not concerned solely with architecture, but with the whole history of the settlements, their origins, their growth and development, the occupations of their inhabitants, and the reasons for their prosperity or decline over the centuries. The book will interest professional architects and historians, many of whom will be familiar with the history and environment of Venice itself. It will also attract a more general reader, and perhaps lovers of Venice, and engender a desire to explore beyond St Mark's Square and the Rialto markets, to discover or rediscover the lesser riches of these modest but fascinating communities, whose physical environment, like that of Venice itself, has changed very little over the last two hundred years.