On the southeast side of which island, is a Venice-like city, built in an unknown manner from gigantic cut rocks and abandoned for centuries?

star_gazer

TORCELLO Torcello is an island on the lagoon, very romantic and fascinating. Unlike Burano and Murano, Torcello is unhabitated. It's reachable from Venice taking the water bus (line N). Archaeological remains of the past are still present in a remarkable state of conditions. The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is in Piazza Torcello. Inside the cathedral, a big mosaic representing the Universal Judgement embellishes the interior walls. The Estrario Museum contains significant archaeological finds from the Roman, Byzanthine and medieval periods; near there is the so called Sedia di Attila, a throne that once was the Administrator justice seat. http://www.aboutvenice.org/venices-sestieri.html Jun 02 09, 12:04 AM

Verbonica

"Nan Madol is a ruined city that lies off the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei (presently one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia) and used to be the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until about AD 1500. The city consists of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals and is often called the Venice of the Pacific. The name Nan Madol means "spaces between" and is a reference to the canals that criss-cross the ruins. A local story holds that when Nan Madol was being built a powerful magician living in the well inhabited region on the northwest of the island was solicited, and that his help was a major factor in completing the building. In particular, he was responsible for supplying the huge stone "logs" used in much of Nan Madol by "flying" them from their source to the construction site. Although treated as legend rather than history by archaeologists, the story does at least account for the facts that the major population center was on the opposite side of the island from Nan Madol, and that the type of stone used in its construction is not found nearby." http://maps.pomocnik.com/nan-madol-micronesia/ Jun 02 09, 1:47 AM