History and Structure of Venice

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History and Structure of Venice

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?Venice is one of the most fascinating places to travel in Europe.? Its intrigue lies in its unique beginnings, its dominant past, and its remarkable people and their buildings.? Its foundation is unique because of the need for protection that drove the early Venetians to their new home and the location of this new dwelling-place:? ?Rarely in human history has a vigorous and progressive civilization arisen in a less likely place than the mud flats of the Venetian lagoon.?1? Venice rose to power by its domination of the sea and reached its climax during the years of the Renaissance.? It is during this time period that it truly became ?the bride of the Adriatic and the unchallenged mistress of the Mediterranean.?2? This collection of small islands connected by canals and small strips of land became the home of an independent people and its architecture makes Venice ?a symbol of beauty.?3 ?

Geography and Foundation

The city of Venice is located at the far north of the Adriatic Sea, in what Dr. Timothy Fehler of Furman University calls ?the armpit of Italy.?4? Venice is situated on a chain of marshy islands protected from the Adriatic Sea by the Lidi, the sandbar-like islands further out in the water.? In describing the body of water Venice is located in, Horatio Brown states, ?Perhaps no piece of water in the world is more remarkable than this hundred and eighty-four square miles of Venetian lagoon.?5 because ?the lagoon is not a lake, still less is it a swamp, nor is it like the open sea.?6? At low tide the marshy islands of the lagoon are exposed, and at high tide Venice appears to be alone on the sea.? Lane describes the lagoon as ?mostly open water with a cluster of sma...

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... Davis, 68.

28. Davis, 89.

29. Davis, 96.

30. Howard, 178.

31. Davis, 100.

32. Davis, 99.

33. Davis, 117.

34. Davis, 123.

35. Davis, 127.

36. Howard, 15.

Bibliography

Brown, Horatio F.? In and Around Venice.? New York:? Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1905.

Davis, John H.? Venice.? Edited by the Newsweek Book Division.? New York:? Newsweek, 1973.

Fehler, Timothy.? Furman University, Greenville.? 20 March 2003.

Howard, Deborah.? The Architectural History of Venice.? New York:? Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981.

Lane, Frederic C.? Venice:? A Maritime Republic.? Baltimore:? The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973.

Wiel, Alethea.? Venice.? New York:? G.P. Putnam?s Sons, 1894.

Yriarte, Charles.? Venice:? Its History, Art, Industries, and Modern Life.? Philadelphia:? Henry T. Coates & Co., 1986.

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