Venice

I

Introduction

Venice (Italian Venezia), city and seaport in north-east Italy, in Veneto Region, capital of Venice Province. Venice is situated on 120 islands formed by 177 canals in the lagoon between the mouths of the Po and Piave rivers, at the northern extremity of the Adriatic Sea. Because of its historic role as a naval power and commercial centre, the city is known as the “Queen of the Adriatic”. A rail and road causeway connects Venice with the mainland. Long sand bars, or barrier beaches, on the outer side of the lagoon serve as protection against the sea. The islands on which the city is built are connected by more than 400 bridges. The Grand Canal, about 3 km (2 mi) long, winds through Venice from north-west to south-east, dividing the city into two nearly equal portions. The Giudecca Canal, about 400 m (1,310 ft) wide, separates Giudecca Island, on the extreme south, from Venice proper. No motor vehicles are permitted on the narrow, winding lanes and streets that penetrate the old city, and the bridges are for pedestrians only. For centuries the most common method of transport was by gondola, a flat-bottomed boat propelled by a single oar. Today, the gondolas are used mainly by tourists; motor launches carry almost all the freight and passenger traffic in Venice.

Modern Venice has faced many challenges, including loss of population to other areas and physical damage from flooding, subsidence, erosion, air and water pollution, and age. After devastating floods in 1966, an international effort to preserve historic Venice was coordinated by UNESCO, and many structures were renovated and preserved. Flooding has occurred throughout the history of the city; it is caused when high tides combine with storm winds, and has been combated with experiments using mechanical barriers. The sinkage of buildings and other structures, caused by the drainage of underground aquifers, has been addressed by limits on groundwater usage and the construction of an aqueduct from the Alps nearby. However, since the early 20th century, Venice has sunk 23 cm (12 in) deeper into the lagoon and in 2003 work began on a multi-billion dollar anti-flood project to protect the city from further sinkage. The construction of a 1.6 km (1 mi) long mobile defence barrier that will shut off high tides is scheduled for completion by 2011. Population 268,934 (2007 estimate).

II

Economy

The basis of the Venetian economy is tourism; along with the beauty of the architecture and canals and the many art and cultural attractions, there are numerous film festivals and other events throughout the year that attract visitors. The city is also famous for its glassware, mirrors, and beads, most of which are manufactured on the nearby island of Murano. Venetian lace, made chiefly on the island of Burano, is also popular. On the mainland, in Mestre and Marghera, are shipbuilding facilities and many industrial plants, including steelworks, foundries, and chemical factories. Since World War II, many Venetians have moved to these areas seeking jobs and housing. The Marghera port, which handles most of the area's seagoing traffic, is reached by a channel that is an extension of the Giudecca Canal.

III

Places of Interest

Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The city buildings and decorations, from Byzantine to Renaissance styles, show great artistic achievement. The works of the Venetian school are represented throughout Venetian palaces, public buildings, and churches.

The centre and most frequented part of the city is St Mark's Square. At the eastern end are St Mark's Cathedral and the Doges’ Palace (Palazzo Ducale), the two most important and imposing structures in Venice. The cathedral—begun about 828, restored after a fire in 976, and rebuilt between 1047 and about 1071—is an outstanding example of Byzantine architecture. The palace—begun about 814, destroyed four times by fire, and each time rebuilt on a more magnificent scale—is a remarkable building in Italian Gothic with some early Renaissance elements. The northern side of the piazza is occupied by the Procuratie Vecchie (1496) and the southern side by the Procuratie Nuove (1584), both in Italian Renaissance style. During the time of the Venetian republic these buildings were the residences of the nine procurators, or magistrates, from among whom the doge, or chief magistrate, was usually selected.

Along the two palaces and their extension, the Atrio or Fabbrica Nuova (1810), extend arcades with cafés and shops. Near the Doges’ Palace stand two famous granite columns erected in 1180, one bearing the winged lion of St Mark and the other St Theodore of Studium on a crocodile. The most conspicuous feature of the city is the campanile, or bell tower, of St Mark, which is almost 99 m (325 ft) high; it was built between 874 and 1150 and rebuilt after it collapsed in 1902.

At the back of the Doges’ Palace is the famous Bridge of Sighs, which connects the palace with public prisons and was the route by which prisoners were taken to and from the judgment hall. The most famous of the three bridges spanning the Grand Canal is the Rialto (1588), lined with a double row of shops. The Grand Canal, the principal traffic artery of Venice, is lined with old palaces of the Venetian aristocracy, among which are many structures of great historical and architectural value. Farther north, near the lagoon, is the 15th-century church of San Giovanni in Bragora, a domed and columned edifice in Italian Gothic style and formerly the funeral church of the doges. In its vicinity is the greatest monument in Venice, the 15th-century equestrian statue of the Venetian general Bartolomeo Colleoni, the work of the Florentine artist Andrea del Verrocchio. Nearby is the site of the Arsenal, a former centre of shipbuilding, and public gardens. Islands extend to the east in the direction of the Lido, an island reef outside the lagoon that is famous as a bathing beach and holiday resort. Great museums, such as the Ca' d'Oro (located in a Gothic palace on the Grand Canal), and historic churches are found throughout the city. The Libreria Vecchia (Old Library) contains about 13,000 manuscripts and more than 800,000 books, some of immense value. The University of Venice was founded in 1868. The city of Venice and its lagoon were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest international film festival, has taken place every September since its founding in 1932. The Venice Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art, is held every two years from June to November at the Castello Gardens to the east of St Mark’s Cathedral. An associated biennial festival of architecture is also organized on alternate years to the visual arts, as well as annual festivals of dance, music, and theatre.

IV

History

The area around Venice was inhabited in ancient times by the Veneti. According to tradition, the city was founded in ad 452, when the inhabitants of Aquileia, Padua, and other northern Italian cities took refuge on the islands of the lagoon from the Teutonic tribes that invaded Italy during the 5th century. They established their own government, which was headed by tribunes for each of the 12 principal islands. Although nominally part of the Eastern Roman Empire, Venice was virtually autonomous. In 697 the Venetians organized Venice as a republic under an elected doge. Internal dissent disturbed the course of government during the following century, but the threat of foreign invasion united the Venetians. Attacks by Saracens in 836 and by the Hungarians in 900 were successfully repulsed. In 991 Venice signed a commercial treaty with the Saracens, initiating the Venetian policy of trading with the Muslims rather than fighting them. The Crusades and the resulting development of trade with Asia led to the establishment of Venice as the greatest commercial centre for trade with the East. The republic profited greatly from the partition of the Byzantine Empire in 1204 and became politically the strongest European power in the Mediterranean. The growth of a wealthy aristocracy gave rise to an attempt by the nobles to acquire political dominance, and, although nominally a republic, Venice became a rigid oligarchy by the end of the 13th century. In the 13th and 14th centuries Venice was involved in a series of wars with Genoa, its chief commercial rival. In the war of 1378-1381, Genoa was compelled to acknowledge Venetian supremacy. Wars of conquest enabled Venice to acquire neighbouring territories, and by the late 15th century the city-state was the leading maritime power in the Christian world.

The beginning of Turkish invasions in the middle of the 15th century marked the decline of Venetian supremacy. Thereafter, faced with attacks by foreign invaders and other Italian states, its power waned, and the discovery of a sea route to the Indies around the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1497-1498 accelerated the decline. In 1508 the Holy Roman Empire, the pope, France, and Spain combined against Venice in the League of Cambrai and divided the Venetian possessions among themselves, and although Venice reacquired its Italian dominions through astute diplomacy in 1516, it never regained its political power.

In 1797 the Venetian Republic was conquered and ended by Napoleon Bonaparte, who turned the territory over to Austria. In 1805 Austria was compelled to yield Venice to the French-controlled kingdom of Italy but regained it in 1814. A year later Venice and Lombardy were combined to form the Lombardo-Venetia Kingdom. The Venetians, under the Italian statesman Daniele Manin, revolted against Austrian rule in 1848, and a new republic was established. Austria, however, re-established control a year later. In 1866, after the Seven Weeks' War, Venice became part of the newly established kingdom of Italy.

In 1902 St Mark’s Bell Tower collapsed and had to be completely rebuilt (1912). The city survived World War II unscathed. In 1966 a flood caused serious damage to historic buildings. The Teatro La Fenice burnt down in 1996; its reconstruction was completed in December 2003.