History
The city was founded as a result of the influx of refugees into the marshes
of the Po estuary following the invasion of northern Italy by the Lombards
in 568. In the mid-8th century, the Venetians resisted the empire-building
efforts of Pepin III and remained subject to Byzantium, at least
theoretically. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power
waned, however, an increasingly anti-Eastern character emerged, leading to
the growth of autonomy and eventual independence. Venice was a city state (an
Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa,
Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at head of the Adriatic made
Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable.
The Republic of Venice seized the eastern shores of the Adriatic before
1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a
menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles Duke of Dalmatia and
Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda
as far west as the River Adda, were known as "Terra Firma", and were
acquired partly as a buffer against beligerent neighbors, partly to
guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland
wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial
empire, the Republic acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean,
including Crete, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the
standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was
relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia,
and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was
threatened by invaders.
Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which (with
Venetian aid) seized Constantinople in 1204 and established the Latin
Kingdom of Jerusalem. Only Venetian ships could efficiently transport the
men, supplies, and (especially) war horses.
The Venetian governmental structure was a mix of Byzantine and Islamic
systems, but the social order was entirely feudal. Church and various
private properties were tied to military service, though there was no knight
tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order
of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a
foreign order without the government’s consent. Venice remained a republic
throughout its independent period and politics and the military were kept
completely separate. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other
means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries
for service elsewhere).
The chief executive was the Doge (duke), who, theoretically, held his
elective office for life. In practice, a number of Doges were forced by
pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into
monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by perceived
political failure.
Though the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the
state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and it
enacted not a single execution for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation.
This apparent lack of zeal contributed to its frequently coming into
conflict with the Papacy. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a
number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, more
famous, occasion was on April 27, 1509, by order of Pope Julius II (see
League of Cambrai).
Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics
and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern
historians.
After 1070 years, the Republic lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte
on May 12, 1797, conquered Venice during the First Coalition. The French
conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history: It
was during the "Settecento" that Venice became perhaps the most elegant and
refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture, and
literature. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's
Jewish population. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the
restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.
Venice became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia when
Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on October 12 1797. The Austrians
took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by
the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of
Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814. In
1866, along with the rest of Venetia, Venice became part of Italy. After
1797, the city fell into a serious decline, with many of the old palaces and
other buildings abandoned and falling into disrepair, although the Lido
became a popular beach resort in the late 19th century.
Transportation
Venice is famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of more than
100 islands in a shallow lagoon. In the old center, the canals serve the
function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot. In
the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railroad station to
Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th
century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city,
transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past,
entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest carfree area,
unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st century
entirely without motorcars or trucks.
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used
for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies, due to its
cost. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses ("vaporetti") which
ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city's islands.
The city also has many private boats. The only unmotorized gondolas still in
common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing
the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges.
Venice is served by the newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport, or
Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen. The
airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast so that
visitors now need to get a bus to the pier, from which watertaxi or
Aliliguna waterbus can be used.
Places of note
Sestieri
The sestieri are the primary traditional divisions of Venice. The city is
divided into the six districts of Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including
the Giudecca), Santa Croce, San Marco and Castello (including San Pietro di
Castello and Santa Elena).
Piazzas and Campi
Piazza San Marco
Palaces
Doge's Palace
The Arsenal
La Fenice opera house
Palazzo Grassi
Ca' d'Oro
Ca' Rezzonico
Peggy Guggenheim Collection museum
Churches
Basilica di San Marco
Churches
Bridges and channels
Giudecca
The Bridge of Sighs
Islands
The Venetian Lagoon
Islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello, Isola Di San Michele, Lido
Sinking of Venice
The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced poles (made of a
wood specially chosen because it strengthens with age), or pilings, which
penetrate alternating layers of clay and sand. Most of these pilings are
intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the pilings,
and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The buildings are
often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn
and early spring.
During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the
periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to
sink. It was realised that extraction of the aquifer was the cause. This
sinking process has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the
1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level
floods (so-called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of
several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In
many old houses the ground floor is unoccupied due to the periodic floods,
but people continue to live and work in the upper stories.
Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking, but
this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked.
In May 2003, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, inaugurated the
"Moses" project, which will lay a series of 79 inflatable pontoons across
the sea bed at the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted
to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air and
block the incoming water from the Adriatic sea. This challenging engineering
work is due to be completed by 2011.
Famous Venetians
Marco Polo (1254-1324), traveller.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), composer, musician.
Canaletto (1697-1768), painter.
Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798), legendary womanizer
Hugo Pratt (1927-1995), cartoonist and creator of Corto Maltese
