ABSTRACT
The coherence of the environment reinforces the sentiment of belonging to a Lagoon community. In 1515, when Venice proposes the Giudecca, as Marino Sanudo notes down, the Jews protest that they fear they will be attacked by soldiers; they prefer Murano. In the Middle Ages, Venice's political space laps against the Dalmatian coast, Greece, and the islands of the Aegean. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the islands of the Lagoon still harbour communities, more or less important. The Lagoon was a precarious place; its risks made it easier for Venice to impose its choices on communities there and to have its officials accepted. In the Middle Ages, many Italian cities have recourse to a podesta, a political figure whose functions vary from place to place. In the eyes of law, the rest of the Muranesi constitute the "community" embodying the common good, a coherent group that defends shared interests.
