Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The aristocrats of Venice elected their first Doge (the Venetian word for
“duke”) back in 697, taking power away from the tribunes who had represented
the various lagoon settlements, and putting it in the hands of a single authority.
Over time, Venice developed a complicated governmental structure combining
Byzantine and Islamic elements, under the authority of the Doge. The system
included all manner of checks and balances, mostly in the form of councils and
noble bodies, like the much-feared Council of Ten, which had the power to try
and convict anyone in the state. While there was much bureaucratic wheeling and
dealing, the system contributed to a thriving economy, boosting the city's position
as a trade center, and creating a lucrative taxation system. With its port abuzz, and
with Venice the principal connection between the East and West, the government
worked industriously to sustain the economic might of the city-state; interna-
tional trade and diplomacy were prioritized to the extent that Venice functioned
much like a well-oiled corporation.
Venice was much esteemed by other major powers, drawing diplomats and
travelers from around the world. It was here, in a spirit of economic expansion,
that East truly met West. As fortunes grew, Venetian life developed a reputation
for licentiousness—so much so that the author Thomas Coryate (1577-1617)
compared Venice to Sodom and Gomorrah, and feared a downpouring of fire and
brimstone. Venice became Europe's playground, attracting yearlong revelers smit-
ten with its beauty and the voluptuous pleasures offered by its libertine citizenry.
With the focus on play rather than work, Venice eventually went into decline,
its foreign influence undermined by the opening of new trade routes by compet-
ing powers, and the rise of newer monopolies of markets that Venice had begun
to take for granted. By the 18th century, the empire was waning. Napoleon
Bonaparte arrived in 1797, at the end of Venice's final fling; the Doge and his
administration quickly conceded to his military power. Venice was given to the
Austrians in 1798, only to become part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy between
1805 and 1814, when it again became an Austrian territory. Finally, in 1866,
Venice became part of Italy. Its popularity as a destination for foreign visitors has
never abated.
LAY OF THE LAND
What you are seeing is a collection of 118 islands, most of them separated from
each other by narrow canals but linked by hundreds of small bridges. Cutting an
“S” through that checkerboard is the relatively wide Canal Grande, which on
maps seems to cut the city in two. Venice is located in a shallow lagoon, protected
from the Adriatic by a narrow strip of land known as the Lido.
In modern times, Venice has grown a tail, a man-made causeway linking the
historic city to the urban sprawl of mainland Mestre. The railway linking Venice
to the mainland was built in the 19th century, the motor causeway in the 20th
century. Europe's largest parking garage stands at the Venetian end of this cause-
way, and there's a major bus terminal—the Piazzale Roma—just steps away from
the Grand Canal.
