3 MB. The Adriatic Sea, stretching from the Italian Riviera to Albania, is a profound polyglot of languages and cultures, and has an interesting and rich history. The middle part of the Adriatic Sea from Venice to Trieste, together with the surrounding regions, is one of the most important ports of Italy. Since the middle of the 20th century the Adriatic Sea is a major centre of innovation, particularly in the fields of science, technology and biotechnology. There are several reasons for this. The Adriatic Sea, particularly its deep eastern side and its many islands, is a huge laboratory for studying and understanding phenomena at a very different scale from that of the Earth's surface, at a level corresponding to the one of the deep sea. The region of the Adriatic Sea is also one of the largest tourist resorts in the world and, according to international statistics, its is the second most visited tourist destination after the South America. The Adriatic Sea is also the main source of hydroelectricity in Italy and is, therefore, an important economical sector in the country. The sea is a laboratory, a tourist attraction and a source of electricity. All of this makes the Adriatic Sea one of the most important areas of the world. The Adriatic Sea could be the cradle of a new civilization. The Mediterranean Sea has always been the cradle of human civilization. The Adriatic Sea, on the contrary, is an ancient sea. It is more ancient than the Mediterranean, the Black and even the Aegean Seas, in that the Adriatic's first human settlers lived in the region of Veneti, located at the mouth of the Po River, a mere 8 km from the shore, where the ancient Italo-Thracian population, in common with the Illyrians and Croats, has been known from ancient times and even before. The sea has been a cradle for very many civilizations. Many towns in the Adriatic are the ancient names of Greek colonies founded by the settlers from Greece and Magna Graecia, particularly in the period between the 6th and 4th century BC. The first people on this continent in the early Middle Ages were the Slavs, who came from the North of the Danube and settled on the Adriatic coasts. Later, in the 11th century, the first Western European people arrived on the Adriatic Sea, from the West. They were the Croats from Dalmatia, that colonized the L
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