Venice and Its Story

The narrative traces the emergence and political evolution of a maritime republic from humble lagoon beginnings, explaining institutions such as the doge, the Great Council and the oligarchy and the mechanisms of power that sustained long stability. It follows expansion across the Adriatic and eastern Mediterranean, recounting pivotal military and commercial episodes, maritime rivalries with rival city-states, and the setbacks that brought territorial losses and gradual decline. A substantial chapter examines the city's artistic life, surveying architecture, painting, glass-making and printing and relating aesthetic production to civic identity. A second, guidebook-like section divides the urban fabric into twenty descriptive itineraries, offering concise accounts of basilicas, palaces, canals, islands and public spaces alongside illustrations and practical notes.