Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

Venice was founded towards the middle of the 5th century by the inhabitants of the mainland who had fled to the lagoon to escape the barbarian invasions. Very soon, Venice developed maritime traffic and became a bridge between East and West.
Although the hinterland remained in the hands of Germanic tribes, the lagoon continued to be a part of the Latin sphere of influence, as part of the Eastern Empire, with direct rule from Ravenna. Right from the start, then, strong ties with the Byzantine world are put in place. At the end of the 7th century, the lagoon inhabitants were no longer ruled by the "Maritime Tribunes," the Byzantine military commanders, but had reached independence under their own "Doge." This was how the very early Venetian state arose, the "Dogedom," although it was still closely tied to the fortunes of Byzantium.
Between the 9th and 15th centuries, under aristocratic, republican rule, the power of Venice grew and grew. In the first half of the 10th century, two Venetian merchants purloined from Alexandria the relics of St Mark the Evangelist, where – according to legend – he had sought refuge after being shipwrecked. The body was therefore "brought back" to the Rivo Alto area and interred in the Doge's Chapel, which was later to become the Basilica of St Mark.
At the time, the "lagoon sailors" had already begun to extend the range of their actions. Indeed, at that time Venice had already begun to contend for control of the Adriatic. As with all the other maritime powers, Venice had periods of varying "sea policy," to protect her trade interests and those of that Eastern Empire which now – more than ever before – she represented, against acts of complete and utter piracy. The time was soon to come when Venice would control the whole Adriatic. Thanks to the adroitness of the Venetian navy, the Republic received recognition from the Emperor in the East, and special privileges for her merchants. By the end of the 9th century, Venice had become the foremost customers and the foremost suppliers of Byzantium.
But the adroitness of the Venetian navy was supplemented by an equally adroit "diplomacy," which brought the young Republic a series of productive business agreements (in addition to those already undertaken with Byzantium and the Holy Roman Emperor) with princes in North Africa, Syria, and Egypt. Venice now wants to become the crossroads between the East and Italy, and therefore undertakes a series of actions and wars against its rivals around the Adriatic (Ancona, Zara, and Ragusa) and Slav pirates, and meanwhile passing from "policeman" to "lord" of the high seas. The capture of Byzantium was largely helped by Venetian war machinery.
But it is with the Crusades that Venice has the chance to strengthen its position on the western Mediterranean chessboard, and to clear up its ambiguous dealings with Byzantium. During the first three Crusades, Venice accumulated considerable riches during its raids and, especially, with its control of – and advantages from – trade with the Levant. It was with the Fourth Crusade that the Republic of St Mark made a "quality leap," and became a major maritime power. The enterprise was led by the Venetians themselves, who took the greatest possible advantage of the situation: far from freeing the Holy Places, and taking their hint from political intrigues within the Eastern Empire, the 1204 expedition brought about the capture and sack of Byzantium, and the dismembering of its Empire.
Conflict with the Genoese was inevitable as they, too, had obtained privileges by helping with the Crusades. After a series of incidents in Tyre, four violent wars broke out which, in less than 120 years, tested and exhausted the two rivals. The last of these wars was particularly dramatic for Venice, because her very survival was threatened: pressed from the Northeast by the King of Hungary and the Paduan Carrara dynasty, they awoke to find the Genoese inside the lagoon, after they took Chioggia in 1378. But the populace was united at the moment of greatest danger, and Venice resisted and won Chioggia back. By the Peace of Turin in 1381, however, Venice had to cede all Dalmatia to Hungary, Trieste to the Patriarch of Aquileia, Treviso to the Duke of Austria, and Tenedos to Byzantium. To hinder any of these powers from blocking access to the lagoon, Venice began a period of expansion on dry land. In alliance with Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, Venice chased the Carrara family from Padua and, in the early 15th century, annexed Padua, Verona, and Vicenza. Shortly afterwards they annexed Bergamo and Brescia, penetrating far into Lombardy. It was then that Venetian naval power reached its apogee, and the Republic of St Mark took on the name of "Most Serene Republic," and the Doge that of "Most Serene Prince. "To the discovery of the New World two Venetians, John Cabot and his son Sebastian, contributed; with English vessels they discovered Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia.
The alliances between Venice and other towns, and her role as Italian superpower (as she had indeed become), provoked the other powers into an alliance against her: the Venetians invaded the Romagna in 1508. Julius II then formed the League of Cambrai, which, besides the Pope and the princes of Southern Italy, included the Emperor, Spain, and France, and the mistress of the Duchy of Milan. Venice built up a colossal army, which was continually defeated. The Venetians were driven out of Romagna, while other portions of their territory were seized by the Gonzagas and the Duke of Ferrara.
The Pope and Spain, having accomplished their purpose, withdrew from the league, and the Emperor was obliged to re-cross the Alps the same year. After seven years' war, and the overthrow of many old alliances, Venice began winning back most of its lost territories on dry land. After this, Venice began to follow a policy of neutrality and, by means of diplomacy, was able to form an alliance (League of Blois, 1513) with France for mutual assistance against the emperor, or against the Turks, or for the re-conquest of the Milanese. The Turks meanwhile went on gaining victories; Venice joined the league of Spain and the pope, but, believing that she had been betrayed at the battle of Prevesa (1538), concluded an unfavourable peace with the Turks, paying them a tribute for the islands which she still retained. In 1569 the Sultan Selim II set about the conquest of Cyprus, which was heroically defended; Venice, however, making peace on her own account, surrendered her claims to Cyprus.
Venice formed an alliance with Pope St Pius V and Spain, and the allied fleet defeated the Turks at Lepanto (October, 1571). The Pope formed another league, the Holy League, against the French and their Italian allies, especially the Duke of Ferrara.
The republic was beginning to decline politically and commercially. The habits and customs of the feudal nobility had been introduced among the Venetian nobles, and thus an aristocracy had been formed without wealth, and which it was not longer possible to provide with offices in foreign possessions. This ruined nobility, with a keen appetite for luxury and pleasures, was a constant element of political disturbance and of foreign intrigue.
At the same time, Venice was living through its most artistically rich period: her palaces, churches, and public buildings were adorned with a great number of works of art. But while the nobility is going to parties and art exhibitions, the rest of the world is undergoing disturbing changes: the American War of Independence, the French Revolution, the arrival of Napoleon. When Bonaparte invaded the Po Valley, Venice failed to help Bergamo and Verona, which had fought against the French advances. Diplomacy was attempted again, but the ambitious French "Petit Caporal" attacked. The Venetian ruling classes, pacifist and worried about losing their property, accepted the incredible surrender conditions imposed, and ordered the end of the Most Serene Republic. By the Treaty of Campoformio, Napoleon gave Venice, with its territory on the mainland, to Austria. It was 12 May 1797.
Only the people, craftsmen and shopkeepers to a man, understood that the liberté trumpeted by Napoleon meant total devastation. They rebelled and were massacred by cannon fire from the Rialto Bridge. But they had been right. A few days later, Napoleonic troops entered Venice and sacked it. It was a very poor present to hand the Austrian Emperor.