Venice. A History from the Founding of the City to the Fall of the Republic

The book provides a detailed account of the history of Venice, starting from the founding of the city in the 5th century and acquiring the unique status of one of the most powerful city-states in the world, which lasted for... more than a thousand years, until the fall of the Venetian Republic at the hands of Napoleon in 1797. The edition is supplemented with tabs containing magnificent color and black-and-white illustrations. «Of all the cities in Italy that still retain their former glory, only Venice was founded and nurtured by the Greeks. It is no coincidence that the largest Byzantine church in the world is located here, where Christian services are still held and where the patriarch reigns. Even after ceasing to depend on Constantinople, Venice continued to look East for a long time, turning its back on the rest of Italy. The nightmarish complexities of medieval Italian politics, the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the emperor and the pope, barons and civil communities — all of this was of no concern to her. And by the time she finally condescended to create a continental trading empire, her character had already been fully shaped by her uniquely whimsical model. To this day, Venice largely retains the same appearance in which it presented itself to the world not only during Canaletto's time but also in the days of Carpaccio and Gentile Bellini. Since we are talking about the most beautiful city in the world, this is no longer just a phenomenon but a true miracle. Moreover, it is a rare gift for a historian, helping to recreate a much more vivid and clear picture of past eras than is possible in any other city in Europe». (John Julius Norwich)