Rivo Alto

7th century. Driven from his lands by the Lombard invasion, the noble Paoluccio Anafesto flees the village of Altino with his daughter Elena and his son Marco and leads a small community of refugees far from the mainland, venturing into the lagoon. On the wild island of Torcello, Paoluccio attempts to impose a new order based on independence and self-sufficiency. Elena, attracted by the promise of a world where everything is permitted, approaches the Lombards and their troop of young warriors. Torn between his daughter's escape and the community's survival, Paoluccio must choose: cling to declining power or abandon everything and start again from scratch. On the Rivo Alto archipelago, stones placed on stilts outline the foundations of the future Venice.