Venice, Italy

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along small   shoreline, between the mouths of   the Po and Piave Rivers.  Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting. Its   architecture   and   its    artworks. The city in its entirety  is listed as a World Heritage Site along with its lagoon.

Venice is the capital   of Veneto region.  The name is derived from the ancient Venetian People who inhabited the region by the 10yh century BC. The city historically was the capital of the Republic of Venice. It has been known as the   “La Dominante”, “Serenissima”, “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Masks”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, “The Floating City”, and “The City of Canals”. Venice is one of the most romantic cities of Europe.

The republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of   Lepanto, as well as  a very important center of commerce and art in the 13^th century up to the 17^th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of the history. it is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance Period. Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.

Although there   are no historical   records that   deal   directly   with the    founding of  Venice, tradition  and  the  available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive wave of Germanic and Hun invasions. Some late Roman sources reveal the existence  of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons.

Beginning in 166 – 168 the Quadi and Marcomani destroyed the main center in the area, the current   Oderzo. The Roman defenses were again overthrown in the early 5^th 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 peninsula was that of the Lombard in 568, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire a small trip of   coast in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman Byzantine territory was organized as the Exarchate of Ravenna, administered   from that ancient port and overseen by a viceroy appointed by the Emperor in    Constantinople, but Ravenna and Venice were connected only by sea routes and with the Venetians  isolated position came increasing autonomy. New ports were built. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy at the urging of poe Gregory II. In 751 the Lombard king Aistulf conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna, leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous byzantine outpost. During this period the seat of the local Byzantine governor was   in   Malamocco.

In 828 the new city’s prestige was raised by the acquisition of claimed relics of St Mark the Envagelist from Alexandria which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was moved to rialto. As the community continued to develop and Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.

From the 9^th century to the 12^th century Venice developed into a city state. Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian  naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast the city became a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of  the world.

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 carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Garda Lake as far west as the Adda River, were known as the “Terraferma” ,and were acquired partly aas 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, the Republic dominated the trade in salt, acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean including Cyprus and Crete and became a major power – broker in Near East.

Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice trading privileges in the Eastern  Roman Empire.  It became an imperial power following the fourth Crusade, which having veered of course  culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire.

Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded extensively with the Byzantine  Empire and the Muslim world. By the late 13^th century,Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce.

The Republic of Venice lost independence   when Napoleon   Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the First Coalition.  French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history. During 18^th century Venice became   the most elegant and refined city in Europe.

Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon Bonaparte signed the Treaty of campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 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, when it became part of the Austrian – held Kingdom of Lombardy – Venetia. In 1848 – 1849 a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic and Venetia became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

Venice is one the most important tourist destinations in the world  for its celebrated art and architecture. The  city has an average  of 50,000 tourists a day.