Know more about the History of Venice Italy

Knowing the history of Venice Italy will help you understand this beautiful place. Venice has many names, like "Capital of water" and "Adriatic Queen." So let's go and let me bring you back about 1500 years ago when the first settlers arrived in this beautiful lagoon.

I'll tell you the facts and how it all began with the...

History of Venice Italy

History of Venice Italy

Venice is a Floating city on 7,5 km² with 150 canals, 100 squares, and 400 bridges. The first settlers were farmers and fishermen from around the Veneto area. They had to flee to protect their lives and to stay out of the hands of Attila the Hun. 

They arrived at the Adriatic sea, where they discovered some islands just above the waterline. These islands were made out of tree trunks gathered from the nearby mainland, fasted down into the silt. 

More arrivals came in 568 AD when the Germanic Lombard tribes conquered Northern Italy. The escaped people discovered the island was petrified instead of rotting. This was because of the particular timber of the tree trunks and the silt of the seawater. And after this fact, the future of Venice was assured...

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The history of Venice Italy is made in many stories. How many local Venetian citizens still living in Venice, Italy? Around 55.000. Mostly senior citizens. Young couples prefer to move to the mainland with the convenience of a car, not to mention lower house prices, cheaper shopping, and fewer tourist. So every year, almost 1.000 Venetian leave the city to live in another place. 

Local families who have their roots in Venice were.... 

Outstanding sailors

Venice Italy History

The people of early Venice were outstanding sailors. Their boats fanned out from the Adriatic sea into the Mediterranean. 

The hardworking traders soon became so powerful that they owned the most extensive ship fleet in Europe. Every deal they made became a profit. So they created their own Island State.

The wealthiest families became the aristocracy. And mostly, what happens in the history of Venice Italy is that people need a leader. So the Venetians elected a leader known as the Doge. The Doge was the most important person and leader of Venice. 

Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly, the selected Doge was the elder in the city. So they started to build the Doge Palace, and also the San Marco Basilica was built. 

However their success, in the 18th century, the trading and shipping industry moved to the other European cities. Venice lost its sea power. It became a dead city with no income. When Napoleon invaded the city, the last of the 120 Dogen disappeared. From 1866 Venice and the islands belong to Italy. In the mid-1930s, Mussolini built a bridge to connect Venice to the mainland. 

Venice was rediscovered by world travelers like me and you…

  • Do you know why these Venice attractions, the San Marco Basilica and the Piazza San Marco have their name?

An important note in history; Venetian merchants, took in 828 AD the body of Saint-Marc from Alexandria to Venice. He became the emblem of the city. They believed Saint-Marc gave them prosperity.

By Rudmer Hoekstra (author):


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