Venise triomphante: Les horizons d'un mythe

by Élisabeth Crouzet-Pavan

Faire l'histoire de Venise, c'est retracer l'aventure unique d'une communauté humaine redoutée et conquérante, toujours âpre et dure, parfois haïe et combattue pour ses violen-ces et son orgueil.
Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan s'attache dans cet ouvrage à expliquer comment, en maîtrisant des espaces proches aussi bien que lointains, en cultivant le mythe d'une élection divine, Venise a pu devenir le centre d'un monde.
Aux temps obscurs et précaires, la ville surgit lentement, au milieu d'une eau saumâtre, protectrice comme une muraille.
Cette ville, par un effort de tous les jours, les hommes ne cessèrent de la construire et de la reconstruire, de l'embellir et de l'orner, de l'aménager et de la préserver, jusqu'à en faire une image de gloire. Sur tous les théâtres de son histoire, Venise triomphante est alors regardée : l'empire maritime et la Terre Ferme qu'elle contrôle et exploite ; le port, le marché et les ateliers où s'affaire une humanité cosmopolite ; les lieux de pouvoir où les élites façonnent l'ordre et la grandeur de la République ; les maisons, les cours, les ruelles où vivent et meurent hommes et femmes.
Ainsi naît Venise, au croisement de l'imaginaire et de l'histoire : imaginaire de fragilité suscitant un intense attachement à la vie et à la puissance, histoire d'une cité dont la longue geste, dans un conscient défi au temps, est demeurée inscrite dans un dernier espace de palais et d'églises...

Genres: History, Nonfiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2002

Reviews

[Chambermusic79 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan's essay describes Venetian society in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, focusing on five topics: the lagoon, the commercial empire, the mainland, social geography and social networks. The author deals with every issue paying particular attention to its evolution through time; yet, her synthesis creates a very consistent picture of the town. Crouzet-Pavan belongs to the Annales school, and so she focuses on the constant interplay between historical events, the economic background and cultural imagery. The usual problem with general essays on Venice is that they tend to mirror and replay its stereotypes; on the contrary, Crouzet-Pavan is great at showing to what extent the myth of Venice coincides with reality, and how and why it came into existence. For instance, she emphasises the role of Venice's early relationship to the mainland, often neglected in favour of isolationism and long-distance trade. I also liked the anthropological approach, focusing on people, space and meanings; the author is particularly good at sketching different interests and points of views (nobility, "citizens", workers, outcasts), showing how they interacted to form a collective identity. Crouzet-Pavan is wonderfully well-informed and readable, without sounding too academical; her book is geared to both scholars (as a general review of extant scholarship) and general readers (possibly with some background readings). I would strongly suggest it to anyone interested in the history of Venice. [I must specify that I read the Italian translation, "Venezia trionfante : Gli orizzonti di un mito", published by Einaudi.]

[Sean Mccarrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be quite honest, I could not stand reading this book. The cover and title reminded me of a 1990s travel guide. There is so little originality in publishers in modern times (though this book was written in 1999 and things are getting a bit better). The subject matter itself was well worn enough to be like ice on the road during a winter's day. The author seemed to slide all over the place, from economics, to religion, to everyday life, with no discernible progression or pattern. It was hard to keep track of and eventually I gave up.
Initially, it was my hope that this would be an Annales School review of Venetian history, especially given the geographic information in the initial text. However, soon it became clear that there would be no rhyme or rhythm to this books format. Books like these are an unfortunate expenditure of time. In retrospect, I should have judged a book by its cover.