Venice Vacation Guide

History of Venice

While the Veneti had long inhabited northeastern Italy and a small population of fishermen known as "lagooners" had long lived on the islands of modern Venice, the city's true beginning point came when refugees fled to the marshlands from the surrounding Roman cities to escape marauding barbarians.

The first wave of immigrants fled the Quadi and Marcomanni in the 160’s A.D. In the 5th Century, more came to escape the Visigoths and the Huns, and in the 6th Century, yet more arrived seeking safe haven from the Lombards.

Byzantine Rule
With the Western Roman Empire destroyed and Lombardy ever threatening from across the lagoon, Venice welcomed help from the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 6th Century. The Byzantines organized the thin coastal strip into the Exarchate of Ravenna and ruled it from Constantinople. The sheer distance and the lack of a land connection to Venice, however, left Venice rather isolated- and isolation bred a desire for autonomy. In 726, a rebellion broke out, and the Byzantine Exarch was murdered. Venetians then elected their first of a long series of 117 doges (dukes). However, Venice immediately resubmitted itself to the Byzantines under their new leader, perhaps to avoid Papal or Lombard domination.

The Rise of Venice
Venice gradually morphed into a fully independent city state between the 9th and 12th Centuries A.D., and its naval and mercantile might soon led to its status as the link between the East and much of Western and Central Europe.

It thrived on the necessity to manage a water-borne lifestyle with all the maritime skills developed for that, its isolation with nobody to interfere in daily life and its ideal position at the mouth of the Alpine passes and nearby trading partners.

An empire was formed that included Crete, a collection of Aegean islands, the Istrian Peninsula, the Dalmatian Coast and areas inland from Venice all the way up to the Alpine slopes. By 1300, Venice was the wealthiest city on the European continent. During the Middle Ages, Venice gained valuable trading privileges with the Byzantines, successfully resisted the power of the Papacy and became the “printing capital of the world.”

The Decline of Venice
When Venice unsuccessfully tried to defend Thessaloniki and Constantinople from the Ottomans, the end result was a costly 30-year war, the loss of their overseas possessions and elimination of their top trading partner. Next, the discovery of new routes to Asia by the Portuguese in the 1490’s reduced the relative value of Mediterranean commerce. Finally, in 1575, 1577 and 1630 plagues drastically reduced Venice’s population.

Since World War II, Venice’s population has shrunk by 50% as many have moved to the mainland. However, the tourist industry has boomed and become the city’s economic mainstay. Despite a devastating flood in 1966, the city has recovered and become one of the top tourist destinations in Europe.