Underwater Forest

By the 16th Century, the lagoon’s settlers had become prosperous traders. Their first buildings, made of simple reeds, were replaced by expensive blocks of brick, tile and stone. Only the most important buildings were dressed in marble. In an array of diverse Gothic, Roman, and Byzantine styles, elaborate leaves and flora, and exotic wildlife, emerged from her walls and columns. Detailed motifs from the sea, such as crabs, dolphins, shells and a myriad of ancient crustaceans, were carved into her façades. The city began to mirror an imaginary facet worthy of Neptune’s own underwater palace. In time, her veined, marble buildings over this improbable floating world, hardened and grew resistant to the salty air. It was as if the lagoon was an alchemist who transformed wood to stone underneath her waters, and coaxed a vast, marble garden to sprout above.