Famous for its white-sand beaches and spring break mayhem, Miami is gradually raising its profile as a global magnet for wealth and commerce.
Old Cutler Bay in Coral Gables and two communities in the city of Miami Beach—San Marino Island and Rivo Alto Island—also ranked among the top 10 most expensive neighborhoods in the United States as of April. Another Miami-area community, Bear’s Club in Jupiter, made it onto the list, along with a neighborhood in Naples on Florida’s Gulf Coast, giving the Sunshine State seven out of 10 spots in the elite ranking.
Miami’s abundant sunshine and relaxed lifestyle have always been a draw, but in recent years, the city has benefitted from an economic boom. With an extremely tight labor market and a high rate of entrepreneurship, Miami-Dade County is among the most dynamic economies in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic era brought an influx of startup founders, venture capitalists, and private equity tycoons from traditional tech and finance hubs such as Silicon Valley, New York, and Chicago to business-friendly Miami, whose mayor, Francis Saurez, has courted tech players with his tagline, “How can I help?”
In addition to its rise as an economic hub, Miami is also establishing itself as a global artistic mecca—arguably taking its place alongside New York and Los Angeles as one of America’s most important art cities. Every December, for example, untold numbers of artists, dealers, collectors, and enthusiasts descend upon Miami during Art Week, which features more than 20 international art fairs—the most famous being Art Basel Miami Beach—along with a blizzard of art-related parties, pop-up exhibitions, and events.
The rise of Miami as an economic and creative hub has led some to optimistically declare that this city of sun, sand, and style has the potential to be the “Venice of the 21st century”—a global center of trade as well as a leader in the arts. While this land of Instagram addicts and rented Lamborghinis seems to have little in common with an Italian city-state that reached its zenith more than half a millennium ago, a closer look reveals intriguing parallels between Miami and the Venetian Republic.
Venice was a major power in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with a far-flung maritime empire, a formidable navy, and a prosperous economy supported by global trade. The city-state’s wealth stemmed from its capitalist innovations and advantageous location, which ensured that goods from the Middle East and Asia had to pass through Venetian ports on their way to the growing European market. Later, as its military and economic power began to wane, the Venetian Republic increased its clout as a center of arts and culture, producing well-known painters (such as Titian and Veronese), sculptors, architects, and musicians.
Despite the traditional dominance of tourism and real estate in the city’s economy, Miami is also an international financial center, a status it shares with the late Venetian Republic. Not only does Miami hold the nation’s second-largest concentration of global banks, but it’s also attracting domestic finance firms—most notably Citadel, the giant hedge fund that in 2022 announced that it was relocating from Chicago to Miami’s Brickell area. Miami’s rising prominence in the art world is another echo of Venice. While Miami, unlike Venice, doesn’t exactly have a navy, it’s worth noting that the Port of Miami is the world’s busiest cruise hub.
Finally, like Venice, Miami is built on a swamp. And while Miami’s geographical features make it vulnerable to flooding and storm damage, the real estate market is shrugging off this concern, with luxury waterfront properties still trading for record prices. The Venetian Republic was known as La Serenissima—the “most serene.” It’s an appellation that could just as easily apply to sun-soaked Miami as it ascends on the world stage.
