In its one thousand years of history, Venice was one of Europe's greatest commercial and naval powers. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the Serenissima built innovative defense works within its territory to defend it from the incursions of other European powers to the north-west and to protect its trade routes and Adriatic ports from attacks from the East.

The six fortifications of Bergamo, Peschiera del Garda, Palmanova, Zadar, and Šibenik in Croatia and Kotor in Montenegro, for their exceptional historical, architectural and technological value, since 2017 are a transnational serial site part of the UNESCO World Heritage.