Venice: A History

by John Hagy Davis

Rarely in history has a great city arisen in a less likely place than the islands and mud flats of the Venetian lagoon. But they provided the city's founders with a refuge from the barbarians who had invaded their mainland homes.

With energy and ingenuity, these displaced people created a maritime empire of unequaled splendor. At its height, the Republic of Venice was said to encompass "one quarter and one half of one quarter" of the known world. During those years, its merchant princess lived more lavishly than many kings. With the discovery of the New World, however, Venice's trading monopolies were broken. The long, slow decline that followed was protracted and infinitely poignant. Today, the decaying buildings adjoining the Rialto Bridge serve as haunting reminders of the bygone age of La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic.

Here is the dramatic story of the city that was once known as the most beautiful in the world - the bride of the Adriatic and the unchallenged mistress of the Mediterranean.

Genres: History, Travel, Nonfiction, Italy

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1973

Reviews

[Patricia Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where are the maps?

Very well written, and a fascinating study of what Venitians call the most beautiful city in the world. But historical maps would have helped a lot.

[Josh Sieders · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, quick read. Would've been better with more photos (they only came at the end) and probably not an ebook then. But I cracked open my laptop a few times while reading about the architecture and the art to understand the descriptions.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until I read this book, I never appreciated the history and greatness of Venice. Through much of my reading, I kept my computer open to wikipedia's pages on Venice and its great painters and architects.

[Reid Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a significant achievement—not because of its scope, but because of its streamlined approach. There are numerous masterful works about the city of Venice, the republic’s expanse, and the cultural/“imperial” history. But I haven’t found a good short one other than Davis’. I took a major chance going with it on a short stay in Venice rather than one of the larger works. But I found reading this very fulfilling and it was exactly what I needed while making observations of tourist sites on my trip.

The Venetians were a remarkable civilization. We have inherited incredible cultural accomplishments from them. Davis does a very good job of briefly capturing the crucial historical narrative.

[Paulla Schreiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

I have visited Venice several times and I found the historical detail interesting. The gallery at the end was beautiful.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great history, just didn’t grab my attention well. Well written

[Lenard Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful city

It was a nice easy read and gave quote a lot of un biased information the pictures at the end gave a good visual of what was just read

[Nicole Normand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book discounted on Amazon via BookBub; this is my honest review.
Lots of descriptions and quotes, gives us a good portrait of Venice's history which I didn't know about. I had only watched the movie "The Lion of St.Mark" many years ago and I thought it was fascinating.
That said, with all the visual feast the author offers, it gives me a desire to visit when I finally go to the other side of my world.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book provides a decent overview of the history of Venice. The intended audience seems to be for tourists as there is much elaboration of the art, architecture, and music of the Venetian civilization over time (a major strength of the book).

What I didn't like was there were too many grandiose statements claiming that "the Venetian's are the "most ______ people in history."

Overall, the book suceeds what it sets out to do, which is to provide a brief overview history of the city and the 1000 year history of an unique civilization (quite distinct from the rest of Italy).