Between land and open sea the floating village developed in the course of the 20th century as the result of the expansion of water-based recreational activities. Breaking with moral, physical and social norms it combines the experience of wild nature with the pleasure of being together and with a partial return to a more traditional economy. From published sources and anonymous accounts this breaking with the ways of perception and action appears to be a non linear process in which personal experience and the various images it generates represent a particularly active factor.