This volume of Aria was the last--or one of the last--volumes of the series that Tokyopop published in the 00s and early 10s before shuttering its US operations for a number of years. Previous to that, ADV's mayfly publishing operation released a couple of volumes before it closed up shop. Tough times for this manga! Today, TP has its license (or never lost it), and the last three volumes of Aria's 2-in-1 editions are the only releases that I own from TP's current iteration. It isn't Amano's fault that her manga has been subject to the whims of the US publishing industry and Stu Levy.
I've watched the anime versions of many of the episodes in this volume, and the previous one. For me, they really do have the feeling of the setting coming into its own through the author's research into various aspects of Venice's history. Neo-Venezia feels more substantial than a theme park, as was my impression up until v. 4 or so. There's also an episode featuring the king of cats. And then there's Maa, who's weirder than Aria, if that's even possible.