HISTORY OF VENICE

Academic year
2025/2026 Syllabus of previous years
Official course title
STORIA DI VENEZIA
Course code
SIE008 (AF:603744 AR:340952)
Teaching language
English
Modality
On campus classes
ECTS credits
6
Degree level
Corso di Perfezionamento
Academic Discipline
M-STO/04
Period
1st Semester
Course year
1
Where
VENEZIA
Moodle
Go to Moodle page
This course is part of the semester courses offered by Ca' Foscari's School for International Education (SIE).

It aims to provide the main features and theoretical framework of the history of Venice and the Venetian State (from the Early Middle Ages to the 18th century).

Students enrolled in the course are invited to register for its section on the university's Moodle platform (under the name [SIE008] History of Venice (SIE) - a.y. 2025-26), as all materials will be shared via this platform.
Moreover, future communications from the lecturer will be sent via the platform to students' @unive email accounts. Students are therefore encouraged to check their institutional email regularly.

***Please note*** This course is part of Ca' Foscari School for International Education (SIE). You cannot attend classes or sit for the final exams unless you are officially registered for the course. For further information on SIE courses, please visit this page: https://www.unive.it/web/en/15337/semester-courses-in-english
- Knowledge of the main themes of Venetian history and the Venetian State (medieval and modern eras, particularly institutional and socio-economic aspects);
- Ability to analyse and discuss historical sources;
- Ability to identify bibliographic sources useful for the analysis of a complex historical topic;
- Ability to develop analyses of historical topics within a long-term context.
The course is open to students from all areas of study; no prerequisites are required.
By the end of the 7th century, marked by the election of the first doges, Venice progressively began to separate from Byzantine influence and develop into an independent city-state. During the High Middle Ages, the group of islands in the northern Adriatic Sea that formed the initial nucleus of the city had been part of the Exarchate of Italy. However, by that time, the commercial success of the lagoon's inhabitants had become significant enough to allow them to pursue independence. Consequently, by the end of the first millennium, Venice's leading role in connecting Europe with the Near East, facilitated by a privileged relationship with Constantinople, was already established. This marked the beginning of a complex and in some ways contradictory history that lasted until the self-proclaimed fall of the Republic in 1797.
This course will investigate and discuss the key features of this long process and the growth that, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, transformed Venice into a major political and naval power, a central hub for trade and finance, as well as a significant social and intellectual centre in the Mediterranean basin and Europe. The original city evolved into a proper state, and while its initial focus was primarily on maritime trade and the Eastern Mediterranean (due to its overseas dominions), by the 15th and 16th centuries, its interests shifted considerably towards Italy and Europe. Following the conquest of the Terraferma State, Venice became a key player in the European arena.
Lectures aim to explore this history through a lens that connects institutional, social, and economic aspects, with a particular emphasis on the long Renaissance (14th to mid-17th centuries), the zenith of Venetian power. Examples and sources (examined with the aid of their English translations) will introduce the pivotal elements and turning points that shaped the political, institutional, and socio-economic development of Venetian history. Aspects such as the role of manufacturing and trade, the foreign minorities living in the city, and the unique characteristics of the Venetian administrative and bureaucratic system within its dominions will also be examined. Finally, special attention will be paid to the consequences Venice faced following the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the increasing influence of other European powers in the Italian peninsula, and the discovery of new oceanic routes at the beginning of the early modern era. These factors contributed to a gradual decline in its international standing and its eventual withdrawal from the global stage to concentrate on the Italian Peninsula in the later early modern period.

Topics:
-The “myth” of the birth of Venice and the relationship with Byzantium;
-The emergence of the Venetian trading role in the Mediterranean and the 4th crusade;
-The institutional structure of the Venetian Republic. Part 1: the doge, the civic bodies and the representation of the State;
-The institutional structure of the Venetian State. Part 2: the “closing” (serrata) of the Great Council and the major governing bodies (Great Council, Senate, Council of Ten);
-The Venetian role in the Mediterranean basin and Europe in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance;
-Venice as the hub of the Mediterranean;
-Venice as a manufacturing centre (maritime industry, glass, silk, printing, etc.);
-The Overseas dominions and the so-called Venetian Commonwealth;
-The Mainland State and the rise of Venice in the European context in the early modern period;
-The war of the League of Cambrai and the State reforms during the 16th century;
-Cosmopolitan Venice: minorities settled in the city;
-Losing power in a new global world: Venice’s 17th century;
-The end of the Republic (18th century).
Bibliography:

- Joanne M. Ferraro, Venice. History of a Floating City, Cambridge University Press 2012 [selected chapters: ch 1 to 8]
- A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797, E.R. Dursteler (ed.), Brill, Leiden 2013; [selected chapters, i.e. A. Viggiano “Politics and constitution”; M. Knapton “The Terraferma state”; B. Arbel “Venice’s Maritime empire in the early modern period”]
- James S. Grubb, Elite citizens, in Venice Reconsidered. The History and Civilization of an Italian City-State, 1297-1797, J. Jeffreis Martin and D. Romano (eds.), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London 20032, pp. 339-364
- Benjamin Kohl, The Serrata of the Greater Council of Venice, 1282-1323, in Venice and the Veneto during the Renaissance: the Legacy of Benjamin Kohl, M. Knapton, J.E. Law and A. Smith (eds.), Firenze University Press, Firenze 2014, pp. 3-34 (open access: <http://www.rm.unina.it/rmebook/index.php?mod=none_Legacy_Kohl> ;)
- Venice. A Documentary History, 1450-1630, D. Chambers and B. Pullan (eds.), Blackwell, Oxford 1992; [translated selected sources]
- Venice: cità excelentissima. Selections from the Renaissance Diaries of Marin Sanudo, H. Labalme and L. Sanguineti White (eds.), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2008; [translated selected sources]

Optional reading for further study:
- F.C. Lane, Venice. A Maritime Republic, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London 1973 (selected chapters)
- D. Romano, Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City, OUP, Oxford 2024

Additional bibliographic resources on specific topics will be provided during lectures and listed on the course's Moodle page. Class presentations will be uploaded as supplementary materials to aid comprehension of the main topics, as will a digital timeline to help students chronologically contextualise key events in Venetian history.

All bibliography titles are available through Ca' Foscari's libraries.
The exam will consist of a final written test, comprising a multiple-choice section and a short-answer question section.
written
Assessment criteria:
- knowledge of the topics covered during the course and in the reference bibliography;
- correctness and accuracy of language in the comprehension and analysis of historical events;
- ability to contextualise historical events within their thematic framework and over the long term.

Grades will be awarded based on the following scale:
18-21 (Basic): Demonstrates a basic understanding of the core concepts.
22-24 (Fair): Reflects a good working knowledge of the course content.
25-27 (Good): Shows a thorough and comprehensive knowledge.
28-30 (Excellent): Indicates an excellent knowledge of the course topics.
Lectures. Students are invited to comment and discuss the topics analysed in class.
The course will be taught in English. English translations will be provided for all sources in Latin, Italian, or Venetian.

While class attendance is not* compulsory, it is strongly advised to attend for a deeper understanding of the course material and effective exam preparation.
***Please note*** that for Foundation Year students, a minimum attendance of 80% is mandatory.

Subject to circumstances allowing it, a field trip may be organised either as part of a lesson or as an optional additional activity.
Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 17/09/2025