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Venice Italian: Venezia
Comune
Comune di Venezia
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Venice
Venice Location of Venice in Veneto Show map of Italy Venice Venice (Veneto) Show map of Veneto
Coordinates: 45°26′15″N 12°20′9″E / 45.43750°N 12.33583°E / 45.43750; 12.33583Coordinates: 45°26′15″N 12°20′9″E / 45.43750°N 12.33583°E / 45.43750; 12.33583
Country	Italy
Region	Veneto
Metropolitan city	Venice (VE)
Frazioni	Chirignago, Favaro Veneto, Mestre, Marghera, Murano, Burano, Giudecca, Lido, Zelarino
Government
• Mayor	Luigi Brugnaro (independent)
Area
• Total	414.57 km2 (160.07 sq mi)
Elevation	1 m (3 ft)
Population (2018)
• Total	260,897
• Density	630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	(it) Veneziano, pl. Veneziani (en) Venetian, pl. Venetians
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	30100
Dialing code	041
ISTAT code	027042
Patron saint	St. Mark the Evangelist
Saint day	25 April
Website	Official website

Venice and its Lagoon

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice in fall, with the Rialto Bridge in the background
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi
Reference	394
Inscription	1987 (11th Session)

Venice (/ˈvɛnɪs/, VEN-iss; Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsja] (listen); Venetian: Venesia, Venexia [veˈnɛsja]) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region.

It is situated across a group of 118 small islands^[1] that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.^[2][3] The islands are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile). Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork.^[2] The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[2]

In 2018, 260,897 people resided in Comune di Venezia, of whom around 55,000 live in the historical city of Venice (Centro storico). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6 million.^[4]

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC.^[5][6] The city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals."

The 697-1797 Republic of Venice was a major financial and 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 (especially silk, grain, and spice) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century.^[7] This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.^[8]

It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period. After the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, the Republic was annexed by the Austrian Empire, until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, following a referendum held as a result of the Third Italian War of Independence. Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.^[9] Although the city is facing some major challenges (including financial difficulties, pollution, an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by cruise ships sailing close to the buildings),^[10][11][12] Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, an iconic Italian city, and has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world.^[13][14]

Etymology[edit]

The name of the city, deriving from Latin forms Venetia and Venetiae, is most likely taken from "Venetia et Histria", the Roman name of Regio X of Roman Italy, but applied to the coastal part of the region that remained under Roman Empire outside of Gothic, Lombard, and Frankish control. The name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Enetoi (Ἐνετοί). The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti and the Slavic Vistula Veneti. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen ("love"), so that *wenetoi would mean "beloved", "lovable", or "friendly". A connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color 'sea-blue', is also possible.
Supposed connections of Venetia with the Latin verb venire (to come), such as Marin Sanudo's veni etiam ("Yet, I have come!"), the supposed cry of the first refugees to the Venetian lagoon from the mainland, or even with venia ("forgiveness") are fanciful. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia [viˈnɛːdʒa];^[15] (Venetian: Venèxia [veˈnɛzja]; Latin: Venetiae; Slovene: Benetke; Croatian: Venecija).

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

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Historical affiliations

Western Roman Empire 421–476

Kingdom of Odoacer 476–493
Ostrogothic Kingdom 493–553
Eastern Roman Empire 553–584
Exarchate of Ravenna 584–697
Republic of Venice 697–1797
Habsburg Monarchy 1797–1805
Kingdom of Italy 1805–1815
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1815–1848
Republic of San Marco 1848–1849
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1849–1866
Kingdom of Italy 1866–1946

Italian Republic 1946–present

Grand Canal from Rialto to Ca'Foscari

Venice view from the Bridge Foscari, to the Bridge Santa Margherita

Gondola Punta and Basilica Salute

St Mark's Basilica houses the relics of St Mark the Evangelist

The Doge's Palace, the former residence of the Doge of Venice

Although no surviving historical records deal directly with the founding of Venice,^[16] 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 such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino, and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Hun invasions.^[17] 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.^[18][19] Some late Roman sources also reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They 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).^[20][21]

Beginning as early as AD 166–168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo. The Roman defences were again overthrown 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 peninsula, that of the Lombards in 568, left the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip 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 (the Exarch) 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, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, dated from c. 568.^[22]

The traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto (Anafestus Paulicius), was elected in 697, as written in the oldest chronicle by John, deacon of Venice in ca. 1008. Some modern historians claim Paolo Lucio Anafesto was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Paul's magister militum (General: literally, "Master of Soldiers"). In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II. The Exarch, held responsible for the acts of his master Byzantine Emperor Leo III, was murdered and many officials put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own independent leader for the first time, although the relationship of this to the uprisings is not clear. Ursus was the first of 117 "doges" (doge is the Venetian dialect development of the Latin dux ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is duke, in standard Italian duce.) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo III's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition of this, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the field, was confirmed by Leo as dux^[23] and given the added title of hypatus (Greek for "Consul".)^[24]

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 (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories, as refugees sought asylum there. In 775/6 the episcopal seat of Olivolo (San Pietro di Castello; Helipolis^{[citation needed]}) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811–827) the ducal seat moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here.

Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his own rule. He ordered the Pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast,^[25] and Charlemagne's own son Pepin of Italy, king of the Lombards under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw in 810. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.

In 828 the new city's prestige increased with the acquisition of the claimed relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. (Winged lions, visible throughout Venice, are the heraldic crests of St. Mark.) The patriarchal seat also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, its autonomy grew, leading to eventual independence.^[26]

Expansion[edit]

Monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni, he was captain-general of the Republic of Venice.

From the 9th to the 12th century, Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara: the other three of these were Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable.^{[citation needed]} 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 (especially the Byzantine Empire and Asia) with a naval power protecting sea routes from piracy.^[27]

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 Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, 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,^[28] 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 Golden Bulls or "chrysobulls" in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire; but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power.^[29][30]

Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which were originally placed above the entrance to the cathedral of Venice, St Mark's Basilica, although the originals have been replaced with replicas and are now stored within the basilica. After the fall of Constantinople, the former Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago, and captured Crete.^[31]

Piazza San Marco in Venice, with St Mark's Campanile and Basilica in the background

The seizure of Constantinople proved as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half-century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453.

View of San Giorgio Maggiore Island from St. Mark's Campanile

Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. By the late 13th 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. Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "Doge", or duke, the chief executive, who usually held the title until his death; although several Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by political failure.

The Venetian government structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).

View of San Marco basin in 1697

The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola, Canaletto, circa 1738, J. Paul Getty Museum

Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and executed nobody for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican divine William Bedell are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most noted, occasion was in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V.

Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians.

The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world, and the leading printer was Aldus Manutius, who invented paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.^[32]

Decline[edit]

Francesco Guardi, The Grand Canal, circa 1760 (Art Institute of Chicago)

Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to hold Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II, he declared the first of a series of Ottoman-Venetian wars that cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492. Then Vasco da Gama of Portugal found a sea route to India by rounding the Cape of Good Hope during his first voyage of 1497–99, destroying Venice's land route monopoly. France, England and the Dutch Republic followed. Venice's oared galleys were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing the great oceans, and therefore Venice was left behind in the race for colonies.

The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577.^[33] In three years, the plague killed some 50,000 people.^[34] In 1630, the Italian plague of 1629–31 killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.^[35] Venice began to lose its position as a center 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; while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products, and until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center.

Modern age[edit]

1870s panoramic view of Venice

During the 18th century, Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture and literature. But the Republic lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the War of the First Coalition. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.

Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. But Venice was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy; however it was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848 and 1849, a revolt briefly re-established the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866, after the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

Morning Impression along a Canal in Venice, Veneto, Italy by Rafail Levitsky (1896)

View from the Bridge of Sighs

During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on the city itself.^[36] However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed.^[37] On 29 April 1945, a force of British and New Zealand troops under Lieutenant General Freyberg of the British Eighth Army liberated Venice, which had been a hotbed of anti-Mussolini Italian partisan activity.^[38][39]

Subsidence[edit]

Acqua alta ("high water") in Venice, 2008

Venice and surroundings in false colour, from Terra. The picture is oriented with North at the top.

Subsidence, the gradual lowering of the surface of Venice, has led to the seasonal Acqua alta when much of the city's surface is occasionally covered at high tide.

Foundations[edit]

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on plates of Istrian limestone placed on top of the piles,^[40] and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.

Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.

Most of these piles were made from trunks of alder trees,^[41] a wood noted for its water resistance.^[42] The alder came from the westernmost part of today's Slovenia (resulting in the barren land of the Kras region), in two regions of Croatia, Lika and Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of Velebit) and south of Montenegro.^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city.^[43] This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment.

In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief, Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of a 'stamp tax'.^{[citation needed]} When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted instructions, which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. At first, this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until the fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax, Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the practice spread to other countries.

During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside. It was realized that extraction of water from the aquifer was the cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses, the former staircases used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.

Studies indicate that the city continues sinking at a relatively slow rate of 1–2 mm per annum;^[44][45] therefore, the state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea.^[46] This engineering work is due to be completed by 2018.^[47]

The project is not guaranteed to be successful and the cost has been very high, according to a spokesman for the FAI (similar to a National Trust). "Mose is a pharaonic project that should have cost €800m [£675m] but will cost at least €7bn [£6bn]. If the barriers are closed at only 90cm of high water, most of St Mark’s will be flooded anyway; but if closed at very high levels only, then people will wonder at the logic of spending such sums on something that didn’t solve the problem. And pressure will come from the cruise ships to keep the gates open."^[48] Approximately €2 billion of the cost has been lost to corruption.^[49]

Geography[edit]

Sestieri[edit]

Sestieri of Venice

Venice viewed from the International Space Station

The whole pensolon (municipality) is divided into 6 boroughs. One of these (the historic city) is divided into six areas called sestieri: Cannaregio (including San Michele), San Polo, Dorsoduro (including Giudecca and Sacca Fisola), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore) and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff. Now, each sestiere is a statistical and historical area without any degree of autonomy. The six fingers or phalanges of the ferro on the bow of a gondola represent the six sestieri.

The sestieri are divided into parishes – initially 70 in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just 38. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170. Each parish exhibited unique characteristics but also belonged to an integrated network. The community chose its own patron saint, staged its own festivals, congregated around its own market center, constructed its own bell towers and developed its own customs.^[50]

Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.

Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner.

Climate[edit]

According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 3.3 °C (37.9 °F), and for July this figure is 23.0 °C (73.4 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 748 millimetres (29.4 in).

Government[edit]

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The 6 boroughs of the whole comune of Venice
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The whole comune (red) in the Metropolitan City of Venice
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Ca' Loredan, Venice's City Hall
  

  
  

  
  

The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council (Consiglio Comunale), which is composed of 45 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, contextually^{[clarification needed]} to the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), composed of 12 assessors nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor.

Venice was governed by center-left parties from the 1990s until the 2010s, when the mayor started to be elected directly. Its region Veneto has long been a conservative stronghold, with the coalition between the regionalist Lega Nord and the center-right Forza Italia winning absolute majorities of the electorate in many elections at communal, national, and regional levels.

After a corruption scandal that forced the center-left mayor Giorgio Orsoni to resign, Venice voted for the first time in June 2015 for a conservative directly elected mayor: the center-right businessman Luigi Brugnaro won the election in the second round of voting with the 53% of the votes against the leftist magistrate and member of the Italian Senate Felice Casson, who led in the first round with 38% of the votes.^[54]

Villa Bianca in the residential district of Lido

The municipality of Venice is subdivided into six administrative Boroughs (Municipalità). Each Borough is governed by a Council (Consiglio) and a President, elected contextually^{[clarification needed]} to the city Mayor. The urban organization is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The Boroughs have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition, they are supplied with autonomous funding to finance local activities. The Boroughs are:

Lagoon area:

• Venezia (historic city)-Murano–Burano (also known as Venezia insulare); population: 69,136;


• 
  Lido–Pellestrina (also known as Venezia litorale); population: 21,664.

Mainland (terraferma), annexed with a Royal Decree, in 1926, to the municipality of Venezia:

• 
  Favaro Veneto; population: 23,615;


• 
  Mestre-Carpenedo (also known as Mestre centro); population: 88,952;


• Chirignago-Zelarino; population: 38;179;


• 
  Marghera; population: 28;466.

After the 2015 elections, five of the six boroughs are governed by the Democratic Party and its allies, and one by the center-right mayoral majority.

Economy[edit]

Venice's economy has changed throughout history. Although there is little specific information about the earliest years, it is likely that an important source of the city's prosperity was the trade in slaves, captured in central Europe and sold to North Africa and the Levant. Venice's location at the head of the Adriatic, and directly south of the terminus of the Brenner Pass over the Alps, would have given it a distinct advantage as a middleman in this important trade. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Venice was a major center for commerce and trade, as it controlled a vast sea-empire, and became an extremely wealthy European city, a leader in political and economic affairs and a centre for trade and commerce.^[55] From the 11th century until the 15th century, pilgrimages to the Holy Land were offered in Venice. Other ports such as Genoa, Pisa, Marseille, Ancona and Dubrovnik were hardly able to make any competition to the well organized transportation of pilgrims from Venice.^[56][57]

Like Murano, Burano is also a tourist destination, usually reached via vaporetto

The beach of Lido di Venezia

Bridge of Sighs, one of the most visited sites in the city

Venetian Arsenal houses the Naval Historical Museum

This all changed by the 17th century, when Venice's trade empire was taken over by other countries such as Portugal, and its naval importance was reduced. In the 18th century, then, it became a major agricultural and industrial exporter. The 18th century's biggest industrial complex was the Venice Arsenal, and the Italian Army still uses it today (even though some space has been used for major theatrical and cultural productions, and spaces for art).^[58] Since World War II many Venetians have moved to Mestre and Marghera seeking employment as well as affordable housing.^[59]

Today, Venice's economy is mainly based on tourism, shipbuilding (mainly done in the neighboring cities of Mestre and Porto Marghera), services, trade and industrial exports.^[55]Murano glass production in Murano and lace production in Burano are also highly important to the economy.^[55]

The city is facing financial challenges. In late 2016, it had a major deficit in its budget and debts in excess of €400 million. "In effect, the place is bankrupt", according to a report by The Guardian.^[60] Many locals are leaving the historic center due to rapidly increasing rental costs. The declining native population affects the character of the city as an October 2016 National Geographic article pointed out in its subtitle: "Residents are abandoning the city, which is in danger of becoming an overpriced theme park".^[49] The city is also facing some major challenges including erosion, pollution, subsidence, an excessive number of tourists in peak periods and problems caused by oversized cruise ships sailing close to the banks of the historical city.^[10]

In June 2017, Italy was required to bail out two banks in Venice to prevent bankruptcies of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca.^[61] Both companies will be wound down and their assets with value will be taken over by another Italian bank, Intesa Sanpaolo which received €5.2 billion as compensation. The Italian government will be responsible for losses from any uncollectible loans from the now-closed banks. The cost may be as high as €5.2 billion but the guarantees to cover bad loans total €12 billion.^[62]

Tourism[edit]

Piazza San Marco. Doge's Palace.

Gondolas share the waterway with other types of craft (including the vaporetti)

Venice is an important tourist destination for its celebrated art and architecture.^[63] The city gets up to 60,000 tourists per day (2017 estimate). Estimates as to the annual number of tourists vary from 22 million to 30 million.^[64][65][66] This 'overtourism' creates overcrowding and environmental problems in its canal ecosystem. By 2017, UNESCO was considering the addition of Venice to its "In-Danger" list which, includes historical ruins in war-torn countries. To reduce the number of visitors that are causing irreversible changes in Venice, the agency supports limiting the number of cruise ships^[67][68] as well as creating a full strategy for a more sustainable tourism.^[69]

Cruise ship passing bacino San Marco

Cruise ships access the port of Venice through the Giudecca Canal.

Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th century, when it was a major center for the Grand Tour, with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it became a fashionable centre for the "rich and famous", often staying or dining at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffè Florian. It continued being a fashionable city in vogue right into the early 20th century.^[63] In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions.^[63]

Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities, and mainly people in the cinematic industry. The city also relies heavily on the cruise business.^[63] The Cruise Venice Committee has estimated that cruise ship passengers spend more than 150 million euros (US$193 million) annually in the city according to a 2015 report.^[70] Other reports, however, point out that such day-trippers spend relatively little in the few hours of their visits to the city.^[60]

Venice is regarded by some as a tourist trap, and by others as a "living museum".^[63] Unlike most other places in Western Europe, and the world, Venice has become widely known for its element of elegant decay. The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice has made prices rise so high that numerous inhabitants are forced to move to more affordable areas of Veneto and Italy, the most notable being Mestre.

Minimising the effects of tourism[edit]

The need to balance the jobs produced by cruise tourism with the protection of the city's historic environment and fragile canals has seen the Italian Transport Ministry attempt to introduce a ban on large cruise ships visiting the city. A 2013 ban would have allowed only cruise ships smaller than 40,000-gross tons to enter the Giudecca Canal and St Mark's basin.^[71] In January, a regional court scrapped the ban, but some global cruise lines indicated that they would continue to respect it until a long-term solution for the protection of Venice is found.^[72]

For example, P&O Cruises removed Venice from its summer schedule, Holland America moved one of its ships from this area to Alaska and Cunard is reducing (in 2017 and further in 2018) the number of visits by its ships. As a result, the Venice Port Authority estimated an 11.4 per cent drop in cruise ships arriving in 2017 versus 2016, leading to a similar reduction in income for Venice.^[73]

Gondoliers on the Grand Canal

The city also considered a ban on wheeled suitcases, but settled on banning hard wheels for cargo from May 2015.^[74]

In addition to accelerating erosion of the ancient city's foundations and creating some pollution in the lagoon,^[49][75] cruise ships dropping an excessive number of day trippers can make St. Marks Square and other popular attractions too crowded to walk through during the peak season. Government officials see little value to the economy from the "eat and flee" tourists who stay for less than a day, which is typical of those from cruise ships.^[76]

Having failed in its 2013 bid to ban oversized cruise ships from the Giudecca canal, the city switched to a new strategy in mid-2017, banning the creation of any additional hotels; currently, there are over 24,000 hotel rooms. (The ban does not affect short-term rentals in the historic center which is causing an increase in rent for the native residents of Venice.)^[60] The city had already banned any additional fast food "take-away" outlets to retain the historic character of the city; this was another reason for freezing the number of hotel rooms.^[77] Less than half the millions of annual visitors stay overnight, however.^[64][65]

Venice Guggenheim Museum.

Some locals were aggressively lobbying for new methods that would reduce the number of cruise ship passengers; their estimate indicated that there are up to 30,000 such sightseers per day at peak periods,^[66] while others concentrate their effort on promoting a more responsible way of visiting the city.^[78] An unofficial referendum to ban large cruise ships was held in June 2017. More than 18,000 people voted at 60 polling booths set up by activists and 17,874 chose to favor the ban on ships from the lagoon. The population of Venice at the time was about 50,000.^[76] The organizers of the referendum backed a plan to build a new cruise ship terminal at one of the three entrances to the Venetian Lagoon. Passengers would be transferred to smaller boats to take them to the historic area.^[79][80] In 2014, the United Nations warned the city that it may be placed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage In Danger sites unless cruise ships are banned from the canals near the historic centre.^[75]

In November 2017, an official Comitatone released a specific plan to keep the largest cruise ships away from the Piazza San Marco and the entrance to the Grand Canal.
^[81] Ships over 55,000 tons will be required to follow a specified path through another canal to a new passenger port to be built in Marghera, an industrial area of the mainland. According to the officials, it will take four years in total to work on the project. However, a lobby group, 'No Grandi Navi' (No big Ships), argued that the effects of pollution caused by the ships can not be diminished.^[82]

In the last week of 2018, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced that the "overnight" tax on visitors (charged to those staying in hotels) would be extended. Every visitor to the historic centre, including day-trippers, would be required to pay the tax. The extra revenue would be used for cleaning and maintaining security, to reduce the financial burden on residents of Venice and to "allow Venetians to live with more decorum". The fee per person had not yet been set, but the mayor was considering an amount somewhere between €2.50 and €10 per person, with exemptions for a few types of travelers, including students. Since the area gets roughly 30 million visitors per year, the total revenue will be of great value.^[83]

Foreign words of Venetian origin[edit]

Some words with a Venetian etymology include arsenal, ciao, ghetto, gondola, imbroglio, lagoon, lazaret, lido, Montenegro, and regatta.^[84] The name "Venezuela" is a Spanish diminutive of Venice (Veneziola).^[85] Many additional places around the world are named after Venice, e.g., Venice, Los Angeles, home of Venice Beach; Venice, Alberta in Canada; Venice, Florida, a city in Sarasota County; Venice, New York.

Transportation[edit]

In the historic centre[edit]

Aerial view of Venice including the Ponte della Libertà bridge to the mainland.

Giudecca Canal. View from St Mark's Campanile.

Sandolo in a picture of Paolo Monti of 1965. Fondo Paolo Monti, BEIC.

P & O steamer, circa 1870.

Venice is built on an archipelago of 118 islands^[1] formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges.^[86] In the old centre, the canals serve the function of roads, and almost every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century, a causeway to the mainland brought the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station to Venice, and the Ponte della Libertà road causeway and parking facilities (in Tronchetto island and in piazzale Roma) were built during the 20th century. Beyond the road and rail land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains (as it was in centuries past) entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car-free area. Venice is unique in Europe, in having remained a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.

The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, (plural: gondole) although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies, or as 'traghetti' (sing.: traghetto) to cross the Canale Grande in the absence of a nearby bridge. The traghetti are operated by two oarsmen; for some years there were seven such boats but by 2017, only three remained.^[87]

There are approximately 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice in their distinctive regalia and a similar number of the boats, down from 10,000 that travelled the canals two centuries ago.^[88][89] Many gondolas are lushly appointed with crushed velvet seats and Persian rugs. Less well-known is the smaller sandolo. At the front of each gondola that works in the city, there is a large piece of metal called the fèro (iron). Its shape has evolved through the centuries, as documented in many well-known paintings. Its form, topped by a likeness of the Doge's hat, became gradually standardized, and was then fixed by local law. It consists of six bars pointing forward representing the Sestieri of the city, and one that points backwards representing the Giudecca.^[89][90]

Waterways[edit]

Rialto Bridge

Venice is a city of small islands, enhanced during the Middle Ages by the dredging of soils to raise the marshy ground above the tides. The resulting canals encouraged the flourishing of a nautical culture which proved central to the economy of the city. Today those canals still provide the means for transport of goods and people within the city.

The maze of canals threaded through the city requires the use of more than 400 bridges to permit the flow of foot traffic. In 2011, the city opened Ponte della Costituzione, the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal, connecting the Piazzale Roma bus terminal area with the Stazione Ferroviaria (train station), the others being the original Ponte di Rialto, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and the Ponte degli Scalzi.

Public transport[edit]

Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is a public company responsible for public transportation in Venice.

A map of the waterbus routes in Venezia

Lagoon area[edit]

The main public transportation means are motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which ply regular routes along the Grand Canal and between the city's islands. The only gondole still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Other gondole target tourists on an hourly basis.^[89]

The Venice People Mover (managed by ASM) is a cable-operated public transit system connecting Tronchetto island with Piazzale Roma. Water taxis are also active.

Lido and Pellestrina islands[edit]

Lido and Pellestrina are two islands forming a barrier between the southern Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. In those islands, road traffic is allowed. There are bus services on islands and waterbus services linking islands with other islands (Venice, Murano, Burano) and with the peninsula of Cavallino-Treporti.

Mainland[edit]

The mainland of Venice is composed of 5 boroughs: Mestre-Carpenedo, Marghera, Chirignago-Zelarino and Favaro Veneto. Mestre is the center and the most populated urban area of the mainland of Venice. There are several bus routes and two Translohr tramway lines. Several bus routes and one of the above tramway lines link the mainland with Piazzale Roma, the main bus station in Venice, via Ponte della Libertà, a road bridge connecting the mainland with the group of islands that comprise the historic center of Venice.
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Venice, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 52 min. 12.2% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 10 min, while 17.6% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 7 km, while 12% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.^[91]

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Vaporetti (water buses) provide the primary means of transportation
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  People Mover in Venice
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Bus in Mestre
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Tram in Venice leaving Piazzale Roma
  

  
  

  
  

Trains[edit]

The Venice St Lucia station

Venice has regional and national trains, including trains to Florence (1h53), Rome (3h33), Naples (4h50), Milan (2h13) and Turin (3h10). In addition there are international day trains to Zurich, Innsbruck, Munich and Vienna, plus overnight sleeper services to Paris and Dijon (Thello), Munich and Vienna (ÖBB).

• The St Lucia station is a few steps away from a vaporetti stop in the historic city next to Piazzale Roma. As well as many more local trains, this station is the terminus of the luxury Venice Simplon Orient Express from Paris and London.


• The Mestre station is on the mainland, on the border between the boroughs of Mestre and Marghera.

Both stations are managed by Grandi Stazioni; they are linked by the Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) between the mainland and the islands.

Others small stations in the municipality are Venezia Porto Marghera, Venezia Carpenedo, Venezia Mestre Ospedale, Venezia Mestre Porta Ovest.

Ports[edit]

Cruise ships at the passenger terminal in the Port of Venice (Venezia Terminal Passeggeri)

Marco Polo International Airport (Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo)

The Port of Venice (Italian: Porto di Venezia) is the eighth-busiest commercial port in Italy and is one of the most important in the Mediterranean concerning the cruise sector, as a major hub for cruise ships. It is one of the major Italian ports and is included in the list of the leading European ports which are located on the strategic nodes of trans-European networks. In 2006, 30,936,931 tonnes passed through the port, of which 14,541,961 was the commercial sector, and saw 1,453,513 passengers. In 2002, the port handled 262,337 containers.^[92]

Airports[edit]

Venice is served by the Marco Polo International Airport (Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo), named in honor of its noted citizen. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast. Public transport from the airport takes one to:

• Venice Piazzale Roma by ATVO (provincial company) buses^[93] and by ACTV (city company) buses (route 5 aerobus);^[94]
  


• Venice, Lido and Murano by Alilaguna (private company) motor boats;


• Mestre, the mainland and Venice Mestre railway station (convenient for connections to Milan, Padova, Trieste, Verona and the rest of Italy) by ACTV lines (route 15 and 45)^[94] and by ATVO lines;


• regional destinations (Treviso, Padua, the beach, ...) by ATVO buses and by Busitalia Sita Nord^[95] buses (national company).

Some airlines market Treviso Airport in Treviso, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Venice, as a Venice gateway. Some simply advertise flights to "Venice", while naming the actual airport only in small print.^[96] There are public buses from this airport to Venice.

Venezia-Lido "Giovanni Nicelli",^[97] a public airport suitable for smaller aircraft, is at the NE end of Lido di Venezia. It has a 994-metre grass runway.

Sport[edit]

The most Venetian sport is probably the "Voga alla Veneta", also commonly called "Voga Veneta". The Venetian Rowing is a technique invented in the Venetian Lagoon which has the particularity to see the rower(s), one or more, rowing standing looking forward. Today, the Voga alla Veneta is not only the way the Gondolier row tourists around Venice but also the way Venetians row for pleasure and sport. Many races called regata(e) happen throughout the year.^[98] The culminating event of the rowing season is the day of the "Regata Storica", happening on the first Sunday of September each year.^[99]

The main football club in the city is Venezia F.C., founded in 1907, which currently plays in the Serie B. Their ground, the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo situated in Sant'Elena, is one of the oldest venues in Italy.

The local basketball club is Reyer Venezia Mestre, founded in 1872 as gymnastics club Società Sportiva Costantino Reyer, and in 1907 as the basketball club. Reyer currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A. The men's team won the Italian Championships in 1942, 1943 and 2017. Their arena is the Palasport Giuseppe Taliercio situated in Mestre. Luigi Brugnaro is both the president of the club and the mayor of the city.

Education[edit]

Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Venice is a major international centre for higher education. The city hosts the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, founded in 1868;^[100] the Università Iuav di Venezia, founded in 1926;^[101] the Venice International University, an international research center, founded in 1995 and located on the island of San Servolo;^[102] and the EIUC-European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation, located on the island of Lido di Venezia.^[103]

Other Venetian institutions of higher education are: the "Accademia di Belle Arti" (Academy of Fine Arts), established in 1750, whose first Chairman was Giovanni Battista Piazzetta;^[104] and the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Music, which, established in 1876 as High School and Musical Society, later (1915) became "Liceo Musicale" and finally (1940), when its Director was Gian Francesco Malipiero, State Conservatory of Music.^[105]

Demographics[edit]

The city was one of the largest in Europe in the High Middle Ages, with a population of 60,000 in AD 1000; 80,000 in 1200; and rising up to 110,000–180,000 in 1300. In the mid 1500s the city's population was 170,000, and by 1600 almost 200,000.^{[106][107][108][109][110]}

In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's comune (the population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland); and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon), of whom 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) were 14.36% of the population compared to pensioners who numbered 25.7%. This compared with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of Venice residents was 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Venice declined by 0.2%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85%.^[111] The population in the historic old city declined much faster: from about 120,000 in 1980 to about 60,000 in 2009,^[112] and to below 55,000 in 2016.^[113]

As of 2009^[update], 91% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group came from other European nations: (Romanians, the largest group: 3%, South Asia: 1.3%, and East Asia: 0.9%).

Venice is predominantly Roman Catholic (92.7% of resident population in the area of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice in 2012^[114]), but because of the long-standing relationship with Constantinople, there is also a noticeable Orthodox presence, and as a result of immigration, there are now some Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist inhabitants.

Since 1991 the Church of San Giorgio dei Greci in Venice has become the see of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta and Exarchate of Southern Europe, a Byzantine-rite diocese under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.^[115]

There is also a historic Jewish community in Venice. The Venetian Ghetto was the area in which Jews were compelled to live under the Venetian Republic. The word ghetto, originally Venetian, is now used in many languages. Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, written in the late 16th century, features Shylock, a Venetian Jew. The first complete and uncensored printed edition of the Talmud was printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg in 1523. During World War II Jews were rounded up in Venice and deported to extermination camps. Since the end of the war the Jewish population of Venice has declined from 1500 to about 500. Only around 30 Jews live in the former ghetto which houses the city's major Jewish institutions.^[116] In modern times, Venice has an eruv,^[117] used by the Jewish community.

Culture[edit]

Literature[edit]

The Travels of Marco Polo.

Venice has long been a source of inspiration for authors, playwrights, and poets, and at the forefront of the technological development of printing and publishing.

Two of the most noted Venetian writers were Marco Polo in the Middle Ages and later Giacomo Casanova. Polo (1254–1324) was a merchant who voyaged to the Orient. His series of books, co-written by Rustichello da Pisa and titled Il Milione provided important knowledge of the lands east of Europe, from the Middle East to China, Japan, and Russia. Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) was a prolific writer and adventurer best remembered for his autobiography, Histoire De Ma Vie (Story of My Life), which links his colourful lifestyle to the city of Venice.

The Santa Maria della Salute

Venetian playwrights followed the old Italian theatre tradition of Commedia dell'arte. Ruzante (1502–1542), Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793), and Carlo Gozzi (1720–1806) used the Venetian dialect extensively in their comedies.

Venice has also inspired writers from abroad. Shakespeare set Othello and The Merchant of Venice in the city, as did Thomas Mann with his novel, Death in Venice (1912). The French writer Philippe Sollers spent most of his life in Venice and published A Dictionary For Lovers Of Venice in 2004.

The city features prominently in Henry James' The Aspern Papers and The Wings of the Dove. It is also visited in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Perhaps the most known children's book set in Venice is The Thief Lord, written by the German author Cornelia Funke.

The poet Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827), born in Zante, an island that at the time belonged to the Republic of Venice, was also a revolutionary who wanted to see a free republic established in Venice following its fall to Napoleon.

Venice also inspired the poetry of Ezra Pound, who wrote his first literary work in the city. Pound died in 1972, and his remains are buried in Venice's cemetery island of San Michele.

Venice is also linked to the technological aspects of writing. The city was the location of one of Italy's earliest printing presses, established by Aldus Manutius (1449–1515).^{[citation needed]} From this beginning Venice developed as an important typographic center and even as late as the 18th century was responsible for printing half of Italy's published books.^{[citation needed]}

In literature and adapted works[edit]

The city is a particularly popular setting for essays, novels, and other works of fictional or non-fictional literature. Examples of these include:

• 
  Casanova's autobiographical History of My Life,


• 
  Ben Jonson's Volpone (1605–6),


• 
  Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti crime fiction series and cookbook, and the German television series based on the novels


• 
  Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven (1982),


• 
  Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Chosen (historical fantasy or alternate history) A large portion of the novel takes place in a city known as La Serenissima. It is an alternative-history version of Venice, complete with masquerades, canals and a Doge.


• 
  Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice (ca. 1596–1598) and Othello,


• 
  Philippe Sollers' Watteau in Venice, and


• 
  Voltaire's Candide.


• 
  Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities.

Additionally, Thomas Mann's novella, Death in Venice (1912), was the basis for Benjamin Britten's eponymous opera.

Art and printing[edit]

An 18th-century view of Venice by Venetian artist Canaletto.

Venice, especially during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was a major centre of art and developed a unique style known as the Venetian School. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Venice, along with Florence and Rome, became one of the most important centres of art in Europe, and numerous wealthy Venetians became patrons of the arts. Venice at the time was a rich and prosperous Maritime Republic, which controlled a vast sea and trade empire.^[118]

The Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti is an example of Venetian Gothic architecture alongside the Grand Canal.

Venice has a rich and diverse architectural style, the most prominent of which is the Gothic style. Venetian Gothic architecture is a term given to a Venetian building style combining the use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Ottoman influences. The style originated in 14th-century Venice, where the confluence of Byzantine style from Constantinople met Arab influence from Islamic Spain. Chief examples of the style are the Doge's Palace and the Ca' d'Oro in the city. The city also has several Renaissance and Baroque buildings, including the Ca' Pesaro and the Ca' Rezzonico.

The Ca' d'Oro.

By the end of the 15th century, Venice had become the European capital of printing, being one of the first cities in Italy (after Subiaco and Rome) to have a printing press after those established in Germany, having 417 printers by 1500. The most important printing office was the Aldine Press of Aldus Manutius, which in 1499 printed the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, considered the most beautiful book of the Renaissance, and established modern punctuation, the page format and italic type, and the first printed work of Aristotle.

In the 16th century, Venetian painting was developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of the Van Eyck brothers. It is signified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour. Early masters were the Bellini and Vivarini families, followed by Giorgione and Titian, then Tintoretto and Veronese. In the early 16th century, there was rivalry in Venetian painting between the disegno and colorito techniques.^[119]

Canvases (the common painting surface) originated in Venice during the early Renaissance. These early canvases were generally rough.

In the 18th century, Venetian painting had a revival with Tiepolo's decorative painting and Canaletto's and Guardi's panoramic views.

Venetian gothic architecture[edit]

Venetian Gothic is an architectural style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Moorish influences. The style originated in 14th-century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine styles from Constantinople, Moorish influences from Al-Andalus, and early Gothic forms from mainland Italy.^{[citation needed]} Chief examples of the style are the Doge's Palace and the Ca' d'Oro in Venice.

Palazzo Dandolo.

The Baroque Ca' Rezzonico.

Rococo architectural style[edit]

It can be argued that Venice produced the best and most refined rococo designs. At the time^[when?], Venice was in trouble. It had lost most of its maritime power, was lagging behind its rivals in political importance, and society had become decadent, with nobles wasting their money in gambling and partying. But Venice remained Italy's fashion capital, and was a serious contender to Paris in terms of wealth, architecture, luxury, taste, sophistication, trade, decoration, style, and design.^[120] Venetian rococo was well known as rich and luxurious, with usually very extravagant designs. Unique Venetian furniture pieces included the divani da portego, and long rococo couches and pozzetti, objects meant to be placed against the wall. Bedrooms of rich Venetians were usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask, velvet, and silk drapery and curtains, and beautifully carved rococo beds with statues of putti, flowers and angels.^[120] Venice was especially known for its beautiful girandole mirrors, which remained among, if not the, finest in Europe. Chandeliers were usually very colourful, using Murano glass to make them look more vibrant and stand out from others, and precious stones and materials from abroad were used, since Venice still held a vast trade empire. Lacquer was very common, and many items of furniture were covered with it, the most noted being lacca povera (poor lacquer), in which allegories and images of social life were painted. Lacquerwork and Chinoiserie were particularly common in bureau cabinets.^[121]

Glass[edit]

Venice is known for its ornate glass-work, known as Venetian glass. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skilfully made.

Murano glass chandelier Ca' Rezzonico

Many of the important characteristics of these objects had been developed by the 13th century. Toward the end of that century, the center of the Venetian glass industry moved to Murano, an offshore island in Venice. The glass made there is known as Murano glass.

A Venetian glass goblet.

Byzantine craftsmen played an important role in the development of Venetian glass, an art form for which the city is well known. When Constantinople was sacked in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, some fleeing artisans came to Venice. This happened again when the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, supplying Venice with still more glassworkers. By the 16th century, Venetian artisans had gained even greater control over the color and transparency of their glass, and had mastered a variety of decorative techniques.

Despite efforts to keep Venetian glassmaking techniques within Venice, they became known elsewhere, and Venetian-style glassware was produced in other Italian cities and other countries of Europe.

Some of the most important brands of glass in the world today are still produced in the historical glass factories on Murano. They are: Venini, Barovier & Toso, Pauly, Millevetri, Seguso.^[122] Barovier & Toso is considered one of the 100 oldest companies in the world, formed in 1295.

Cinema, media, and popular culture[edit]

Venice has been the setting or chosen location of numerous films, games, works of fine art and literature (including essays, fiction, non-fiction, and poems), music videos, television shows, and other cultural references.

Festivals[edit]

Masks at Carnival of Venice.

Typical masks worn during the Carnival of Venice.

The Carnival of Venice is held annually in the city, It lasts for around two weeks and ends on Shrove Tuesday. Venetian masks are worn.

The Venice Biennale is one of the most important events in the arts calendar. In 1895 an Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale (biennial exhibition of Italian art) was inaugurated.^[123] The activities of the Biennale were interrupted by the war in September 1942, but resumed in 1948.^[124]

The Festa del Redentore is held in mid-July. It began as a feast to give thanks for the end of the plague of 1576. A bridge of barges is built connecting Giudecca to the rest of Venice, and fireworks play an important role.

The Venice Film Festival (Italian Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world.^[125] Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale.

In films[edit]

Examples of films set or at least partially filmed in Venice include:^[126]

• 
  The Comfort of Strangers (1990)


• 
  Don't Look Now (1973)


• 
  The Italian Job (2003)


• 
  Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice (1971)^[127]
  


• Three James Bond films: From Russia with Love (1963), Moonraker (1979), and Casino Royale (2006)


• 
  The Tourist (2010)


• 
  Summertime (1955), starring Katharine Hepburn
  


• 
  Fellini's Casanova (1976)


• 
  Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996)


• 
  Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973)


• 
  The Wings of the Dove (1997)


• 
  Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)


• 
  The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)


• 
  A Little Romance (1979)


• 
  Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)


• 
  The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)


• 
  Dangerous Beauty (1988), the biography of Veronica Franco
  


• 
  Penguins of Madagascar (2014)


• 
  Pokémon Heroes (2002), is set inside a city based on Venice, although it is titled differently and features sights not present within its real-world equivalent. (The city is otherwise virtually identical to Venice.)


• 
  Blame It on the Bellboy (1992)


• 
  Inferno (2016)


• 
  Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Music[edit]

La Fenice operahouse in the city.

The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the music of Italy. The Venetian state – i.e., the medieval Maritime Republic of Venice – was often popularly called the "Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical instrument or singing. There is music everywhere."^[128]

During the 16th century, Venice became one of the most important musical centers of Europe, marked by a characteristic style of composition (the Venetian school) and the development of the Venetian polychoral style under composers such as Adrian Willaert, who worked at St Mark's Basilica. Venice was the early center of music printing; Ottaviano Petrucci began publishing music almost as soon as this technology was available, and his publishing enterprise helped to attract composers from all over Europe, especially from France and Flanders. By the end of the century, Venice was known for the splendor of its music, as exemplified in the "colossal style" of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, which used multiple choruses and instrumental groups. Venice was also the home of many noted composers during the baroque period, such as Antonio Vivaldi, Ippolito Ciera, Giovanni Picchi, and Girolamo Dalla Casa, to name but a few.

The orchestra[edit]

Venice is the home of numerous symphony orchestras such as, the Orchestra della Fenice, Rondò Veneziano, Interpreti Veneziani, and Venice Baroque Orchestra.

In popular music[edit]

The city has been the setting for music videos of such songs as Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Dear Prudence" .

In video games[edit]

The city is the setting for parts of such video games as Assassin's Creed II^[129] and Tomb Raider II.^[130] It has also served as inspiration for the fictional city of Altissia, in Final Fantasy XV.^[131] The city also serves as a setting for The House of the Dead 2. The city appears as the first main level in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

Venice was the base theme for Soleanna, one of the hub worlds in Sonic The Hedgehog. One of the nine playable characters, Silver The Hedgehog, was once a mink named "Venice" during development. The idea was ultimately scrapped.

Photography[edit]

Photograph of Guardi's Regatta in Venice at the Frick Art Reference Library.

Its splendid architecture, artworks, landscapes, gondolas, the alternance of high and low tides, the reflections of light and colors, and the unusual daily scenes in a city living on water, make of Venice and its islands a paradise for photographers both professionals and amateurs. Fulvio Roiter has probably been the pioneer in artistic photography in Venice,^[132] followed by a number of authors whose works are often reproduced on postcards, thus reaching a widest international popular exposure.

Cuisine[edit]

Hot chocolate was a fashionable drink in Venice during the 1770s and 1780s.

Venetian cuisine is characterized by seafood, but also includes garden products from the islands of the lagoon, rice from the mainland, game, and polenta. Venice is not known for a peculiar cuisine of its own: it combines local traditions with influences stemming from age-old contacts with distant countries.^{[clarification needed]} These include sarde in saór (sardines marinated to preserve them for long voyages); bacalà mantecato (a recipe based on Norwegian stockfish and extra-virgin olive oil); bisàto (marinated eel); risi e bisi, rice, peas and (not smoked) bacon;^[133]fegato alla veneziana, Venetian-style veal liver; risòto col néro de sépe (risotto with cuttlefish, blackened by their ink); cichéti, refined and delicious tidbits (akin to tapas); antipasti (appetizers); and prosecco, an effervescent, mildly sweet wine.

In addition, Venice is known for the golden, oval-shaped cookies called baìcoli, and for other types of sweets, such as: pan del pescaór (bread of the fisherman); cookies with almonds and pistachio nuts; cookies with fried Venetian cream, or the bussolài (butter biscuits and shortbread made in the shape of a ring or of an "S") from the island of Burano; the galàni or cróstoli (angel wings);^[134] the frìtole (fried spherical doughnuts); the fregolòtta (a crumbly cake with almonds); a milk pudding called rosàda; and cookies called zaléti, whose ingredients include yellow maize flour.^[135]

The dessert tiramisù is generally thought to have been invented in Treviso in the 1970s,^[136] and is popular in the Veneto area.

Fashion and shopping[edit]

Luxury shops and boutiques along the Rialto Bridge.

In the 14th century, many young Venetian men began wearing tight-fitting multicoloured hose, the designs on which indicated the Compagnie della Calza ("Trouser Club") to which they belonged. The Venetian Senate passed sumptuary laws, but these merely resulted in changes in fashion in order to circumvent the law. Dull garments were worn over colourful ones, which then were cut to show the hidden colours resulting in the wide spread of men's "slashed" fashions in the 15th century.

Today, Venice is a major fashion and shopping centre, not as important as Milan, Florence, and Rome, but on a par with Verona, Turin, Vicenza, Naples, and Genoa. Roberta di Camerino is the only major Italian fashion brand to be based in Venice.^[137] Founded in 1945, it is renowned for its innovative handbags featuring hardware^{[clarification needed]} by Venetian artisans and often covered in locally woven velvet, and has been credited with creating the concept of the easily recognisable status bag.^[137] Many of the fashion boutiques and jewelry shops in the city are located on or near the Rialto Bridge and in the Piazza San Marco. There are Louis Vuitton and Ermenegildo Zegna flagship stores in the city. If shopping for Venetian and Italian food specialties and wine you can head to Mascari or Casa del Parmigiano near Rialto and I Tre Mercanti flagship store near Piazza San Marco.

Notable people[edit]

The Doge Andrea Gritti, reigned 1523–1538, portrait by Titian.

Carlo Goldoni, the most notable name in Italian theatre.

The explorer Sebastian Cabot.

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Others closely associated with the city include:

• 
  Pietro Cesare Alberti (1608–1655), considered the first Italian – American, arriving in New Amsterdam in 1635.^[138]
  


• 
  Tomaso Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751), a baroque composer.^[139]
  


• 
  Claudio Ambrosini (9 April 1948), composer and conductor.^[140]
  


• 
  Pietro Bembo (20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547), cardinal and scholar.^[141]
  


• 
  Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516), Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of painters.^[142]
  


• 
  Francesco Borgato (5 September 1990, Venice), Italian recording artist and dancer.


• 
  Marco Antonio Bragadin (d.1571), general, flayed alive by the Turks after a fierce resistance during the siege of Famagusta.


• 
  Sebastian Cabot (c. 1484–1557, or soon after), explorer.^[143]
  


• 
  Rosalba Carriera (7 October 1675 – 15 April 1757), known for her pastel works.^[144][145]
  


• 
  Canaletto (28 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), known for his landscapes or vedute of Venice, but not only.


• 
  Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798 in Dux, Bohemia, (now Duchcov, Czech Republic)), a Venetian adventurer, writer and womanizer.


• 
  Francesco Cavalli (14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676), a baroque composer.


• 
  Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749–1838), opera librettist and poet, wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.


• 
  Enrico Dandolo (c. 1107, 1205), Doge of Venice from 1192 to his death, played a direct role in the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.


• 
  Vincenzo Dandolo (1758–1819), chemist, agronomist and politician of the Enlightenment Era.


• 
  Ludovico de Luigi (November 1933), Venetian Surrealistic artist.


• Pellegrino Ernetti, Catholic priest and exorcist.


• 
  Dominic DeNucci, (1932–) Professional wrestler


• 
  Veronica Franco (1546–1591), poet and courtesan during the Renaissance.


• 
  Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1510–1586), Italian composer and organist at St Mark's Basilica.


• 
  Giovanni Gabrieli (1554/1557–1612), composer and organist at St Mark's Basilica.


• 
  Carlo Goldoni (25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793). Along with Pirandello, Goldoni is probably the most notable name in Italian theatre, in his country and abroad.


• 
  Carlo Gozzi (13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806), dramatist of the 18th century.


• 
  Pietro Guarneri (14 April 1695 – 7 April 1762), left Cremona in 1718, settled in Venice. "Peter of Venice" from the family of great luthiers.


• 
  Baldassare Longhena (1598–18 February 1682), one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture.


• 
  Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480–Loreto, 1556), painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school.


• 
  Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973), an Italian-German orchestra director and 20th-century music composer.


• 
  Aldus Manutius (1449–1515), one of the most important printers in history.


• 
  Leon Modena (1571–1648) preacher, author, poet, active in the Venetian ghetto and beyond.


• 
  Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), composer, opera pioneer, and director of music at San Marco.


• 
  Luigi Nono (29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990), a leading composer of instrumental and electronic music.


• 
  Joseph Pardo (c. 1561–1619), rabbi and merchant.


• 
  Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684), the first woman in the world to receive a doctorate degree.


• 
  Marco Polo (c. 1254–8 January 1324), trader and explorer, one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China. While a prisoner in Genoa, he dictated in the tale of his travels known as Il Milione (The Travels of Marco Polo).


• 
  Virgilio Ranzato (7 May 1883 – 20 April 1937), composer.


• 
  Frederick Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), English author of the Venetian novel The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole.


• 
  Carlo Scarpa (2 June 1906 – 1978, Sendai, Japan), an architect with a profound understanding of materials.


• 
  Romano Scarpa (27 September 1927, Venice–23 April 2005, Málaga), was one of the most noted Italian creators of Disney comics.


• 
  Giuseppe Sinopoli (2 November 1946 – 20 April 2001), conductor and composer.


• 
  Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), the last "Grand Manner" fresco painter from the Venetian Republic.


• 
  Tintoretto (1518–31 May 1594), probably the last great painter of Italian Renaissance.


• 
  Titian (c. 1488–90–27 August 1576), leader of the 16th-century Venetian school of the Italian Renaissance (he was born in Pieve di Cadore).


• 
  Elisabetta Caminèr Turra (1751–1796), writer.


• 
  Emilio Vedova (9 August 1919 – 25 October 2006), one of the most important modern painters of Italy.


• 
  Sebastiano Venier, (c. 1496–3 March 1578), Doge of Venice from 11 June 1577 to 1578.


• 
  Antonio Vivaldi (4 March 1678–28 July (or 27), 1741, Vienna), composer and violinist of the Baroque Era.


• 
  Domenico Montagnana, (24 June 1686 – 6 March 1750) was an Italian master luthier. He is regarded as one of the world's finest violin and cello makers of his time.

International relations[edit]

The City of Venice and the Central Association of Cities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE) established, in January 2000, in pursuance of the EC Regulations n. 2137/85, the European Economic Interest Grouping (E.E.I.G.) Marco Polo System to promote and realise European projects within transnational cultural and tourist field, particularly referred to the artistic and architectural heritage preservation and safeguard.

Twin towns and sister cities[edit]

Venice is twinned with:

• 
  Yerevan, Armenia, since 2011^[146]
  


• 
  Dubrovnik, Croatia, since 2012^[147]
  

• 
  Montería, Colombia, since 2018

In 2013, Venice ended the sister city relationship with St. Petersburg in opposition to laws Russia had passed against homosexuals and those who support gay rights.^[148]

Cooperation agreements[edit]

Venice has cooperation agreements with the Greek city of Thessaloniki, the German city of Nuremberg, signed on 25 September 1999, and the Turkish city of Istanbul, signed on 4 March 1993, within the framework of the 1991 Istanbul Declaration. It is also a Science and Technology Partnership City with Qingdao, China.

See also[edit]

• List of islands of Italy


• History of the Jews in Venice


• List of buildings and structures in Venice


• List of painters and architects of Venice


• List of places called Venice of the East


• Outline of Italy


• Republic of Venice


• Su e zo per i ponti


• 
  Veneti and Venetic language (the ancient spoken language of the region)


• Venetian Blinds


• Venetian Ghetto


• 
  Venetian language (the modern spoken vernacular of the region)


• Venezia F.C.


• 
  Venezia Mestre Rugby FC – rugby team


• Venice of the North


• MOSE Project

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Academic

Popular

External links[edit]

• Official Site of the City of Venice


• 
  Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (Italian/English)


• 
  Venezia Autentica, a website about Life and travel in Venice (English)