Top Venice Resources

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have suggested that the city is no longer sinking, but this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked.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.

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.

After a popular revolutions on 22 March 1848 (The Five Days of Milan), the Austrians fleed from Milan, which become the capital city of the Governo Provvisorio della Lombardia (Lombardy Temporary Government). The next day, also Venice arose against the Austrians, forming the Governo Provvisorio di Venezia (Venice Temporary Government). The Austrians, after defeating the Sardininan troops in Custoza (24-25 July 1848), entered in Milan (6 August) and Venice (24 August 1849), restoring Austrian rule.

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 the Byzantine Empire, 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.

Early in the 15th century, as new mainland territories were expanded, the first standing army was organized, consisting of condottieri on contract. In its alliance with Florence in 1426, Venice agreed to supply 8,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry in time of war, and 3,000 and 1,000 in peacetime. Later in that century, uniforms were adopted that featured red-and-white stripes, and a system of honors and pensions developed. Throughout the 15th century, Venetian land forces were almost always on the offensive and were regarded as the most effective in Italy, largely because of the tradition of all classes carrying arms in defense of the city and official encouragement of general military training.

In Venice the gondola is usually propelled by one or two oarsmen (known as gondoliers) who stand facing the prow, or by poling. A gondola for passengers has a small open cabin, for their protection against the sun or rain. A sumptuary law of Venice required that gondolas should be painted black, and they are customarily so painted now.

For some thousand years, the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice was the Doge (Duke). Doges of Venice were elected by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the most politically shrewd older man in the city. While doges had great temporal power at first, after 1268, the doge was under strict surveillance: he must wait for other officials to be present before opening dispatches from foreign powers; he was forbidden to leave the city and was not allowed to possess any property in a foreign land. He was by law confined for the rest of his life to the Doge's Palace complex and the connected Basilica di San Marco.

By the eighteenth century, the Serene Republic was largely a shadow of its former glory, although it continued to rule over Venetia, the Adriatic littoral, and the Ionian Islands. In 1797 it was invaded by the French troops of General Napoleon Bonaparte, who partitioned the republic between France and the Austrians.

The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) spans the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the oldest bridge across the canal and probably the most famous in the city.