Venice

Venice was a city in Italy on the Adriatic coast.

History
Originally a collection of huts built on marshland by people running from Attila the Hun, it grew into, according to the Eleventh Doctor, "one of the most powerful cities in the world". Influenced by a variety of cultures, it was the hub of a trading empire, its islands famously separated by an intricate series of canals. By 1580, it already had a population of some two hundred thousand people. Because of its improbable architecture at or below sea level, it was gradually sinking over time. (TV: The Vampires of Venice)

Marco Polo was born in St Mark's Square in Venice in 1252. (TV: Marco Polo, PROSE: The Empire of Glass) Polo's travels led him to become a part of the court of Kublai Khan. He hoped to obtain leave to return to Venice by gifting the Doctor's TARDIS to the Khan. (TV: Marco Polo)

The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams visited Venice in 1580. A colony of Saturnyn refugees made it to Venice by 1580, led by Rosanna Calvierri, along with her children. Only the male children survived, though there were ten thousand of them. To rectify this problem and save their species, Rosanna lied about an outbreak of the plague, quarantining the city. She took in young girls under the pretence of providing them a better education. Once amongst them, Rosanna and her son would drain them of blood and replace it with Saturnyn blood, converting them into Saturnyns. Rosanna also intended to to create a tidal wave that would sink the city of Venice, providing them a habitat to live in. Their actions unwittingly attracted the attention of the Doctor, Amy and Rory after they took in Isabella. They and Isabella's father, Guido, investigated the school, enrolling Amy to help them get in. Though she was able to open the trap door, she was captured. With Isabella's help, they escaped, though Isabella was dragged back and killed for treason. Rosanna sent the converted females and her son Francesco to stop them, while starting to sink Venice. The females were all killed when Guido blew up the house when they attacked, while Francesco was killed when Amy directed sunlight on him. The Doctor disabled the device. With her species doomed and her plans ruined, Rosanna killed herself by jumping into the water with her perception filter on. Her children not knowing who she was, devoured her. (TV: The Vampires of Venice)

The First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister visited Venice in 1609, where he told them that it had disappeared into the ocean "centuries before either of [them] were born". (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)

The Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard later visited Venice in the 2294. It was expected to finally sink into the sea as a result of a curse 100 years previously. However, this was reversed by the Duchess Estella and the Duke Orsino, and the city was returned to its former state, albeit suffering much damage. (AUDIO: The Stones of Venice)

Reputation
At least three incarnations of the Doctor found it an incredibly attractive city to visit. The First Doctor once told Steven and Vicki that the marshes surrounding the city was a "wonderful place", based on the quality of the air and shoreline. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass) The Eighth Doctor told Charlotte Pollard it was "magnificent and charming and often quite silent and sinister", and a city with a desolate look in the morning that was reborn by its own lights every night. (AUDIO: The Stones of Venice) The Eleventh Doctor took Rory Williams and Amy Pond to the city as a wedding present. He described it as an "impossible" and "preposterous" city "constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly . . . just, beautiful". He was confident Amy and Rory would love it because many famous humans before them — including Byron, Napoléon Bonaparte, and Casanova — had. (TV: The Vampires of Venice)