Metamorphoses of Venice: the methodological approach by Giuseppe Samonà and Gianugo Polesello to urban design on the fringe of the lagoon city

The idea of fringe in the city of Venice is a singular concept as unique as the morphology of the lagoon city itself. Unlike other cities on the mainland, Venice does not have precise borders; it evolves and grows on the water through the addition of islands, a process which could, potentially, make Venice a city with infinite extension. The boundaries are primarily represented by the challenges between the artificial and the natural, challenges on which Venice has been founded for many centuries. Moreover, they are always provisional borders which dissolve progressively into the sea.