Venice

[ edit ] Timeline of Venice: historical affiliations 421–476 Western Roman Empire 476–493 Kingdom of Odoacer 493–553 Ostrogothic Kingdom 553–584 Eastern Roman Empire 584–697 Byzantine Empire ( Exarchate of Ravenna ) 697–1797 Republic of Venice 1797–1805 Habsburg monarchy 1805–1814 Kingdom of Italy 1815–1848 Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1848–1849 Republic of San Marco 1849–1866 Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1866–1943 Kingdom of Italy 1943–1945 Italian Social Republic 1946–present Italian Republic Although no surviving historical records deal directly with the founding or building of Venice, tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees – from nearby Roman cities such as Patavium ( Padua ), Aquileia , Tarvisium ( Treviso ), Altinum , and Concordia (modern Portogruaro ), as well as from the undefended countryside – who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Hun invasions. This is further supported by the documentation on the so-called "apostolic families", the twelve founding families of Venice who elected the first doge , who in most cases trace their lineage back to Roman families. Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen, on the islands in the original marshy lagoons, who were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto ( Rivoalto , "High Shore")—said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421 (the Feast of the Annunciation ). The foundation of Venice as depicted in the Chronicon Pictum in 1358. According to the Hungarian chronicle, King Attila of the Huns besieged Aquileia , the inhabitants of the city first fled to a sea island and then founded Venice on the island of Rialto. Beginning as early as AD 166–168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main Roman town in the area, present-day Oderzo . This part of Roman Italy was again overrun in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila . The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsul

[ edit ] Some English words with a Venetian etymology include arsenal , ciao , ghetto , gondola , imbroglio , lagoon , lazaret , lido , Montenegro , and regatta .

[ edit ] The Republic of Venice with its Terraferma and Stato da Màr From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Venice developed into a powerful maritime empire (an Italian thalassocracy known also as repubblica marinara ). In addition to Venice there were seven other maritime republics: the most important ones were Genoa , Pisa , and Amalfi ; and the lesser known were Ragusa , Ancona , Gaeta and Noli . Its own strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. The Republic's embrace of sound monetary policies , especially its reliable gold ducat , underpinned growing confidence in Venetian trade and finance, further strengthening its position in international commerce. With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast , the city became a flourishing trade centre between Western Europe and the rest of the world, especially with the Byzantine Empire and Asia , where its navy protected sea routes against piracy. The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The doge already possessed the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria . Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River , were known as the Terraferma ; they were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent 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, Venice dominated the trade in salt, acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean , including Crete , and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, 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 remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called gol

[ edit ] Venice's long decline started in the 15th century. Venice confronted the Ottoman Empire in the Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430) and sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks in 1453. After the Fall of Constantinople , Sultan Mehmed II declared the first of a series of Ottoman-Venetian wars that cost Venice many of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Vasco da Gama 's 1497–1499 voyage, which opened a sea route to India around the Cape of Good Hope , destroyed Venice's monopoly. Venice's oared vessels were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing oceans; therefore, Venice was left behind in the race for colonies . View of San Marco basin in 1697 The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and struck again between 1575 and 1577. In three years, the plague killed some 50,000 people. In 1630, the Italian plague of 1629–31 killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens. Venice began to lose its position as a centre of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth. France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars , marginalising its political influence. However, Venice remained a major exporter of agricultural products and, until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing centre.