Where were the doges of Venice buried? A little bit all over, in churches and monasteries in Venice and beyond.
Venice was an independent state for almost a millennium, but it might note have been. It all hinged on a single battle fought in the Venetian lagoon in 810.
In late Antiquity the north-east of the Italian peninsula suffered many invasions. The wars caused people to move to the safer lagoon areas, and hence to the foundation of Venice.