Il Pianeta Dell’Acqua: Aria’s Neo-Venezia as utopian aquapelago

Mediatised representations offer a powerful way to explore the imaginary possibilities of waterscapes, with the 2002 Japanese manga Aria providing one rich example. Set on a 24th century, terraformed Mars — now named ‘Aqua’ — Aria follows protagonist Akari Mizunashi as she trains to become a gondolier in Neo-Venezia, built to recreate Venice after its 21st century submersion. Though reminiscent of Venice in its cityscape and waterways, Neo-Venezia differs in two key respects which license particular imaginary possibilities: it reimagines the aquapelagic infrastructure of the Venetian lagoon in terms of solarpunk and Slow Life sustainabilities, and its aquapelagic imaginary is imprinted with memories and practices from Venice, Japan, and beyond. Drawing on both Aria itself and reader commentaries, this paper explores how Neo-Venezia is constructed and interpreted as a model for a utopian imagined future in the face of climate change. By recontextualising the Venetian aquapelago in terms of global cultural practices and science-fiction sustainabilities, Aria invites readers to imagine both Neo-Venezia and Venice as globally-relevant sources for their own creative solutions to climate change.