Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges, of which there are 400.

While many cities incorporate islands, Venice, Italy is the most famous example of a city built entirely on an archipelago of 118 small islands within a lagoon. These islands are connected by over 400 bridges and separated by about 170 canals. Another world-class example is Stockholm, Sweden, which is built across 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea; these are connected by 57 bridges, earning it the nickname "Venice of the North." New York City is also essentially an "island city," as four of its five boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island) are situated on islands. In the East, Mumbai, India was originally an archipelago of seven islands that were merged into a single landmass through massive 18th-century land reclamation projects. These cities represent various ways humans have adapted to water-dominant geography, either by spanning it with bridges or literally filling it in.