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The Venetian Empire: A Sea Voyage
For six centuries the Republic of Venice was a maritime empire, its sovereign power extending throughout much of the eastern Mediterranean – an empire of coasts, islands and isolated fortresses by which, as Wordsworth wrote, the mercantile Venetians 'held the gorgeous east in fee'.
Jan Morris reconstructs the whole of this glittering dominion in the form of a sea-voyage, travelling along the historic Venetian trade routes from Venice itself to Greece, Crete and Cyprus. It is a traveller's book, geographically arranged but wandering at will from the past to the present, evoking not only contemporary landscapes and sensations but also the characters, the emotions and the tumultuous events of the past. The first such work ever written about the Venetian ‘Stato da Mar’, it is an invaluable historical companion for visitors to Venice itself and for travellers through the lands the Doges once ruled.
Jan Morris reconstructs the whole of this glittering dominion in the form of a sea-voyage, travelling along the historic Venetian trade routes from Venice itself to Greece, Crete and Cyprus. It is a traveller's book, geographically arranged but wandering at will from the past to the present, evoking not only contemporary landscapes and sensations but also the characters, the emotions and the tumultuous events of the past. The first such work ever written about the Venetian ‘Stato da Mar’, it is an invaluable historical companion for visitors to Venice itself and for travellers through the lands the Doges once ruled.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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About the author
Jan Morris
165 books480 followersJan Morris was a British historian, author and travel writer. Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, but is Welsh by heritage and adoption. Before 1970 Morris published under her assigned birth name, "James ", and is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City, and also wrote about Wales, Spanish history, and culture.
In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.
In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 18, 2012
I love Jan Morris, having been blown away by two quite different projects of hers: the first, her epic 3-volume evocation of the British Empire which summons up the complexity and hugeness of the thing in a series of detailed vignettes; the second, her single-volume meditations on individual cities, most notably Oxford and, famously, Venice.
If I found this book a little disappointing it is because it falls in between the two: the Venetian Empire was a somewhat piecemeal and scattered thing, with no great narrative (the Venetians were losing territories in one place while gaining them in another) to tie its disparate locations together; the book proceeds as a sequence of sketches of Crete, Cyprus, the Aegean islands, etc. which are useful in themselves (travelling in these parts, you often come across things which the guidebooks label 'Venetian' without expanding further) but don't add up to a satisfying book overall. Another problem is the Venetians' extreme flexibility when it came to ethics, which allows Morris a good few opportunities for sarcasm, but which gets in the way of any kind of sympathy or admiration for them. Without a strong master narrative or emotional engagement, Morris' purple passages drift rather aimlessly.
Not but what there isn't some good stuff in here, but it's hardly major Morris.
If I found this book a little disappointing it is because it falls in between the two: the Venetian Empire was a somewhat piecemeal and scattered thing, with no great narrative (the Venetians were losing territories in one place while gaining them in another) to tie its disparate locations together; the book proceeds as a sequence of sketches of Crete, Cyprus, the Aegean islands, etc. which are useful in themselves (travelling in these parts, you often come across things which the guidebooks label 'Venetian' without expanding further) but don't add up to a satisfying book overall. Another problem is the Venetians' extreme flexibility when it came to ethics, which allows Morris a good few opportunities for sarcasm, but which gets in the way of any kind of sympathy or admiration for them. Without a strong master narrative or emotional engagement, Morris' purple passages drift rather aimlessly.
Not but what there isn't some good stuff in here, but it's hardly major Morris.
October 4, 2024
Mas que una historia del imperio veneciano es un viaje por la historia de todas aquellas islas que su Serenísima poseyó por todo el Mar Mediterráneo, y es que ya lo anuncia en la introducción, es mas una novela de viajes que un libro de Historia. A pesar de lo cual yo esperaba que todas esas historias estuvieran mas enlazadas o contextualizadas en un marco mas general, pero no, al final hay muchos detalles curiosos sobre el Imperio veneciano pero no te proporciona una idea general de su papel en la Historia, además se me hizo tedioso tanto detalle para cada isla, termina siendo todo muy repetitivo. En definitiva, si buscais un libro sobre la historia de Venecia este no es el mas indicado
September 21, 2021
An interesting and brief account of the Venetian Empire. Morris writes with a heartfelt sympathy and fondness for the Venetians but absolutely nothing she recounts justifies this; to me, they seem completely irredeemable, even compared to other empires. The Venetians were a mercenary and treacherous bunch who were despised by subjects, allies and enemies alike. This unenlightened empire was the Ur colonial power, created through trickery and guile, sustained not just through unbalanced and parasitic trade but also through slave-run sugar plantations and transplanting Venetians into luxurious colonial cities whilst the indigenous people around them starved. All this was 'achieved' many centuries before the Western Europeans built their colonies in the New World.
The book can shine through this a little because the empire itself is fascinating. Highlights include the 21 year siege of Candia, the account of the scheming of the dastardly Duke Dandolo, or poor queen Caterina of Cyprus. The story of the Venetian Empire is a roller-coaster with enough individual heroism, betrayal or downright villainy to keep anyone entertained. Almost every chapter also ends with the humiliation of Venice at the hands of the Turks, which is always satisfying.
It should be noted that this book is both travelogue and history. Organised geographically rather than chronologically, with a chapter for each of Venice's possessions. The author is a brilliant tour guide, obviously intimately familiar with the sites we visit along the way. She also manages to provide local colour without relying too much on architectural description, which for me is always the worst part of any travel writing (looking at you Robert Byron, looking intensely at you William Dalrymple). Unfortunately, however, she has an odd preoccupation with national character and racial characteristics. This is something one might be able to forgive earlier travel writing but for when the book was published (1980) it feels a bit dated and contrived; The book is full of conjecture about the deep nature of every group we meet: the Cretans, Cypriots, Turks, Roma etc but the worst has to be Morris' claim that the Venetians must have had lots of Jewish blood because of their oriental manners, proclivity towards trade and, yep, you guessed it, their large noses. Charming.
If you're interested in Venice and would like a virtual tour around the Greek islands then this is a nice read, give it a go.
The book can shine through this a little because the empire itself is fascinating. Highlights include the 21 year siege of Candia, the account of the scheming of the dastardly Duke Dandolo, or poor queen Caterina of Cyprus. The story of the Venetian Empire is a roller-coaster with enough individual heroism, betrayal or downright villainy to keep anyone entertained. Almost every chapter also ends with the humiliation of Venice at the hands of the Turks, which is always satisfying.
It should be noted that this book is both travelogue and history. Organised geographically rather than chronologically, with a chapter for each of Venice's possessions. The author is a brilliant tour guide, obviously intimately familiar with the sites we visit along the way. She also manages to provide local colour without relying too much on architectural description, which for me is always the worst part of any travel writing (looking at you Robert Byron, looking intensely at you William Dalrymple). Unfortunately, however, she has an odd preoccupation with national character and racial characteristics. This is something one might be able to forgive earlier travel writing but for when the book was published (1980) it feels a bit dated and contrived; The book is full of conjecture about the deep nature of every group we meet: the Cretans, Cypriots, Turks, Roma etc but the worst has to be Morris' claim that the Venetians must have had lots of Jewish blood because of their oriental manners, proclivity towards trade and, yep, you guessed it, their large noses. Charming.
If you're interested in Venice and would like a virtual tour around the Greek islands then this is a nice read, give it a go.
May 1, 2021
The writing is very evocative, but (as might be inherent in travel literature) rather essentialist when it discussed national character etc etc.
Also the Venetians were AWFUL
Also the Venetians were AWFUL
August 26, 2024
Qué sensación tan rara. Es una narración muy entretenida, llena de datos raros y anécdotas curiosas, pero tiene uno la impresión de haber leído una historia británica del Imperio veneciano. Por supuesto, la autora era británica y los lectores a quienes originariamente se dirigía eran británicos. Eso explicaría las continuas referencias a hechos y personajes de la pérfida Albión y paralelismos un tanto extremos, como que Corfú era el Gibraltar veneciano (p. 194), que Lepanto fue para estas orillas lo que Trafalgar para los ingleses (p. 227) o, mi favorita, que el león de San Marcos sonreía como la reina Victoria (p. 225). Pero es más que eso. La autora parece deslizar un mensaje de justificación del Imperio británico tomando como pretexto el Imperio veneciano, como si este hubiera sido una prefiguración de aquel: fuimos crueles, fuimos venales, no nos movió más que la avaricia, saqueamos tesoros donde los encontramos... pero fuimos grandes.
Jan Morris estructuró su historia de la Serenísima siguiendo un criterio geográfico (la metrópolis, Corfú, Creta, Chipre, las islas griegas, la costa griega, la costa dálmata), lo que es un acierto. Sin embargo, por algún motivo que no explica, dejó fuera de su crónica todos los territorios italianos del continente. Y, aún peor, también dejó fuera de su narración al resto de potencias del Mediterráneo y de los Balcanes, lo que arroja un cuadro bonito, pero incompleto. Intentar contar la historia de Venecia sin hablar de los normandos, de los piratas bereberes, de los aragoneses, de los serbios de Stepan Dushan, de los albaneses de Skanderbeg, del Papado y (casi) de los genoveses, o sea, de la historia del Mediterráneo, es imposible. Carlos I en España y Solimán el magnífico en el Imperio Otomano contemplaban su enfrentamiento en el Mediterráneo solo como un escenario más de su guerra total. La de Morris es una visión solipsista, una "splendid isolation" à la vénitienne. Solo un último detalle increíble: ni una referencia al gran evento que lo cambió todo para Venecia, el descubrimiento de América en 1492. Mucha geografía, pero poca historia (no británica).
Jan Morris estructuró su historia de la Serenísima siguiendo un criterio geográfico (la metrópolis, Corfú, Creta, Chipre, las islas griegas, la costa griega, la costa dálmata), lo que es un acierto. Sin embargo, por algún motivo que no explica, dejó fuera de su crónica todos los territorios italianos del continente. Y, aún peor, también dejó fuera de su narración al resto de potencias del Mediterráneo y de los Balcanes, lo que arroja un cuadro bonito, pero incompleto. Intentar contar la historia de Venecia sin hablar de los normandos, de los piratas bereberes, de los aragoneses, de los serbios de Stepan Dushan, de los albaneses de Skanderbeg, del Papado y (casi) de los genoveses, o sea, de la historia del Mediterráneo, es imposible. Carlos I en España y Solimán el magnífico en el Imperio Otomano contemplaban su enfrentamiento en el Mediterráneo solo como un escenario más de su guerra total. La de Morris es una visión solipsista, una "splendid isolation" à la vénitienne. Solo un último detalle increíble: ni una referencia al gran evento que lo cambió todo para Venecia, el descubrimiento de América en 1492. Mucha geografía, pero poca historia (no británica).
February 1, 2023
Snooze fest
August 8, 2011
This book tied in well with my favorite Dorothy Dunnett series and even the new Zen Masterpiece Theatre series in which the detective is Venetian. Though Morris drifts around the Mediterranean, musing on Venice's various conquests and influence, I thought she searched a bit too hard to find traces of Venetian culture and architecture everywhere. I did learn a lot about Istanbul, the Greek islands, and the cities of former Yugoslavia and want even more to visit Turkey now!
July 15, 2014
I expected this book to be more about Venice itself. Apparently I don't know the meaning of the word "empire". Having said that, I did learn a lot about the Venetians and skipped over the parts of their conquests. I may have to go back someday and read the whole book.
January 23, 2011
Very informative but got to be depressing with the amount of life disregarded, tortured, and killed during various conquests of land.
June 19, 2025
I stumbled upon this book in Heirloom Books, a used bookstore. At that point I had never heard of Jan Morris. I was attracted by the subject, the city of Venice, which I consider to be the most fascinating city I have ever visited. I am typically not a reader of travel books unless they offer something beyond the typical Europe on X dollars a day trope. The structure of the book needs to be original in concept and full of unexpected detail to get my attention. Morris's book does that.
Though the book was written in 1980, there is nothing dated about it. She begins her "tour" of the Venetian Republic in Venice and from there takes the reader to the eastern most reaches of the republic. It begin with the fall of Constantinople , overrun and sacked by French crusaders, and of course, Venetians in 1204. The Venetians essentially commandeered the Eastern Mediterranean at that point..
As time passed the Venetians ceded control of the Eastern Mediterranean to the ascendant Ottoman empire bit by bit. Morris stops in Istanbul, Cyprus, Crete, Corfu, various islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, and the Dalmatian coast. So the central conceit is that as Morris moves geographically from east to west, she also moves in time from 1200 to 1800.
Her writing is elegant and entertaining. I often found myself rereading portions, not because they were too dense or confusing to understand on the first pass through, but because the prose gave me such delight.
The book is as much history as travelogue and is populated with a remarkably detailed array of pirates, sailors, princesses and princes, admirals and generals, galley slaves, and God knows who all. Morris brings them all to life.
Morris also defines national types, but I would be hard pressed to say that she trades in stereotypes or ethnocentrism. How she manages this trick, I surely don't know, but she succeeds completely in doing so. This is a real gem of a book
Though the book was written in 1980, there is nothing dated about it. She begins her "tour" of the Venetian Republic in Venice and from there takes the reader to the eastern most reaches of the republic. It begin with the fall of Constantinople , overrun and sacked by French crusaders, and of course, Venetians in 1204. The Venetians essentially commandeered the Eastern Mediterranean at that point..
As time passed the Venetians ceded control of the Eastern Mediterranean to the ascendant Ottoman empire bit by bit. Morris stops in Istanbul, Cyprus, Crete, Corfu, various islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, and the Dalmatian coast. So the central conceit is that as Morris moves geographically from east to west, she also moves in time from 1200 to 1800.
Her writing is elegant and entertaining. I often found myself rereading portions, not because they were too dense or confusing to understand on the first pass through, but because the prose gave me such delight.
The book is as much history as travelogue and is populated with a remarkably detailed array of pirates, sailors, princesses and princes, admirals and generals, galley slaves, and God knows who all. Morris brings them all to life.
Morris also defines national types, but I would be hard pressed to say that she trades in stereotypes or ethnocentrism. How she manages this trick, I surely don't know, but she succeeds completely in doing so. This is a real gem of a book
August 25, 2022
Morris travels through the places colonised by the Venetians and provides a history as she does so. This book thus forms a sort of sequel to her Venice.
She has used this combination of travelogue and history before, such as in the brilliant Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, and I'm not sure why this book wearied me. Certainly there were plenty of fascinating facts and vivid characters, from the war over the ownership of a donkey to the narrow channel that experiences fourteen tides a day, from the original of Othello, surnamed Moro, which is probably why Shakespeare assumed him to be a Moor to the 'epic villains' of Dalmatia. I learned a lot: we get our word 'argosy' from the fact that Dubrovnik, once called Ragusa, was famous for its merchants and the word 'syncretize' is derived from Crete.
But the glory of a Jan Morris book is her way with words. Her descriptions are stunning, for example this one about Crete: “During the bitter winter it can be magnificently awful. Then the clouds which hang so often round the mountain summits spread over the whole island, swirling above the passes in mists and rainstorms, and sometimes then, when the driven vapours are tinged with southern sunshine too, the place looks all afire. Crimson clouds scud by! The winds rush up those valleys like jets, and if it thunders the crash of it sounds among the highlands as though caves are there and then being split in the rocks.”
She has used this combination of travelogue and history before, such as in the brilliant Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, and I'm not sure why this book wearied me. Certainly there were plenty of fascinating facts and vivid characters, from the war over the ownership of a donkey to the narrow channel that experiences fourteen tides a day, from the original of Othello, surnamed Moro, which is probably why Shakespeare assumed him to be a Moor to the 'epic villains' of Dalmatia. I learned a lot: we get our word 'argosy' from the fact that Dubrovnik, once called Ragusa, was famous for its merchants and the word 'syncretize' is derived from Crete.
But the glory of a Jan Morris book is her way with words. Her descriptions are stunning, for example this one about Crete: “During the bitter winter it can be magnificently awful. Then the clouds which hang so often round the mountain summits spread over the whole island, swirling above the passes in mists and rainstorms, and sometimes then, when the driven vapours are tinged with southern sunshine too, the place looks all afire. Crimson clouds scud by! The winds rush up those valleys like jets, and if it thunders the crash of it sounds among the highlands as though caves are there and then being split in the rocks.”
June 28, 2025
An interesting read; Morris' composition and prose is elegant and charmingly discursive, wandering quite freely from interest to interest in a way that doesn't make the cleanest or clearest history but is enjoyable. It contains a number of charming anecdotes that I will remember, like the sad story of Catherine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus.
But The Venetian Empire hasn't aged well, and frequently reads as smug and self-centered to me. This is a book written by someone who clearly spends a huge amount of time visiting beautiful seaside towns yet continually decries tourism; meaning, I assume, that travel to such places *should* be reserved for some special class of people that includes her. She is disdainful of entire peoples and countries, notably the Balkans (and let's not talk about the anti-ziganism). At times she struggles to restrain a sense of pro-Venetian chauvinism that manages to withstand their many atrocities, cruelties, and basic failures of competent government. Notably, the passage where she notes that Dubrovnik is probably unlucky never to have been conquered by Venice because, gosh, the Venetians just livened cities up!
But The Venetian Empire hasn't aged well, and frequently reads as smug and self-centered to me. This is a book written by someone who clearly spends a huge amount of time visiting beautiful seaside towns yet continually decries tourism; meaning, I assume, that travel to such places *should* be reserved for some special class of people that includes her. She is disdainful of entire peoples and countries, notably the Balkans (and let's not talk about the anti-ziganism). At times she struggles to restrain a sense of pro-Venetian chauvinism that manages to withstand their many atrocities, cruelties, and basic failures of competent government. Notably, the passage where she notes that Dubrovnik is probably unlucky never to have been conquered by Venice because, gosh, the Venetians just livened cities up!
August 5, 2025
Jan Morris es siempre garantía de calidad, incluso con libros con más de 40 años, escritos cuando todavía existía Yugoslavia. Con el hilo narrativo de un viaje por mar desde Venecia a sus posesiones, hace un repaso de la historia relativamente desconocida de Venecia a través de las diferentes colonias en el Egeo y el Adriático, desde la Constantinopla conquistada por Enrico Dándolo hasta las posesiones en el Adriático, algunas de las cuales subsistieron unos días después de la caída de Venecia ante Napoleon.
Esto no es una hagiografía de Venecia ni por asomo. Mientras que el gobierno de la metropolis, e incluso de Terra Ferma podía considerarse un poco más ilustrado y tolerante que lo que era habitual en los siglos en los que duró, en la mayoría de los lugares que controló, Chipre, Zadar o Creta, fue una potencia explotadora e intolerante como cualquiera. En algunos casos tan nefasta que los lugareños acogieron a los otomanos con alivio. Con todo y con eso, hoy se pueden ver muchos leones de San Marcos, y la impronta del estilo veneciano en iglesias de Chipre a Fiume.
Un error o dos le quitan una estrella, pero eso es todo. Jan Morris nunca decepciona.
Esto no es una hagiografía de Venecia ni por asomo. Mientras que el gobierno de la metropolis, e incluso de Terra Ferma podía considerarse un poco más ilustrado y tolerante que lo que era habitual en los siglos en los que duró, en la mayoría de los lugares que controló, Chipre, Zadar o Creta, fue una potencia explotadora e intolerante como cualquiera. En algunos casos tan nefasta que los lugareños acogieron a los otomanos con alivio. Con todo y con eso, hoy se pueden ver muchos leones de San Marcos, y la impronta del estilo veneciano en iglesias de Chipre a Fiume.
Un error o dos le quitan una estrella, pero eso es todo. Jan Morris nunca decepciona.
August 27, 2024
Although this book is over 30 years old (and therefore dated in terms of some of the current geopolitics), it was an excellent introduction to the historical background of the countries of the Adriatic and Aegean regions for my upcoming trip to the Dalmatian coast (by way of Venice). The author melds the history of the rise and fall of the Venetian Empire with beautiful descriptions of the cities and islands of the region and with very entertaining tales of the notable rulers and military personnel of the time. It is, I think, more suitable for a traveler who is interested in regional history than as a resource text for historians. Nevertheless, it provides a highly readable and informative summary of the historical events occurring in the Adriatic region and in Greece during the period 1200 - 1700 and I would recommend it highly to the historically minded traveler to this region of the world. 4.5
September 2, 2024
Se acabó agosto y con él, la lectura de este libro. Lo compré en la Feria del Libro de Madrid a principios de junio, justo después de romperme el escafoides de la mano izquierda... en fin, intentaré no irme por las ramas (as allways):
me lo compré porque me lo habría leído para el TFG de 2020 (El nacionalismo lingüístico en la costa triestina), pero ya desde el principio me pareció que esta edición tenía una traducción bastante mejorable.
De todas maneras, la tradu no es lo que convierte al libro en inconexo y soporífero, sino el estilo de la autora, que no acaba de tejer bien el viaje geográfico-temporal que pretende hacer.
Hay alguna parte que se salva de ser insulsa y prejuiciosa, pero, por lo general, deja entrever una ideología imperialista británica con tintes gitanófobos y, sobre todo, islamófobos que no termino de digerir.
Pd. Me quedaron 10 págs. para acabarlo, pero se me olvidó en casa de Irene en Málaga...
(sorry not sorry)
me lo compré porque me lo habría leído para el TFG de 2020 (El nacionalismo lingüístico en la costa triestina), pero ya desde el principio me pareció que esta edición tenía una traducción bastante mejorable.
De todas maneras, la tradu no es lo que convierte al libro en inconexo y soporífero, sino el estilo de la autora, que no acaba de tejer bien el viaje geográfico-temporal que pretende hacer.
Hay alguna parte que se salva de ser insulsa y prejuiciosa, pero, por lo general, deja entrever una ideología imperialista británica con tintes gitanófobos y, sobre todo, islamófobos que no termino de digerir.
Pd. Me quedaron 10 págs. para acabarlo, pero se me olvidó en casa de Irene en Málaga...
(sorry not sorry)
July 9, 2021
This was a lovely travelogue - I had to keep a map handy and referred to a dictionary from time to time too. It was like being in the NE Mediterranean - across both time and space. What it was like then, before the Venetians, during the Venetians, and after, and even current times (to the time of writing, this is not a new book). It was really lovely, just refreshing. Sometimes non-fiction gives me some basis for reading fiction and I think this filled in some gaps in my personal knowledge-base.
Note: The language around Roma and Jewish people is a little dated, again this book was published decades ago.
The author is a fascinating woman in her own right.
Note: The language around Roma and Jewish people is a little dated, again this book was published decades ago.
The author is a fascinating woman in her own right.
December 19, 2022
Initially I thought this would be a detailed history of the Venetian Empire, and when it wasn't quite that I was disappointed. However, it was much more intriguing, a look at each part of the empire at a time, loosely following the path of the Turkish advance as the empire falls edging out and back again to Venice. It doesn't go into detail on each place but it explores the geography of each place and how each place was governed by Venice, how each place managed that relationship and ultimately how it fell out of Venetian control.
Would really enjoy similar books on other empires as it's a really interesting quick overview which has sparked further interest.
Would really enjoy similar books on other empires as it's a really interesting quick overview which has sparked further interest.
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January 15, 2023its ok, i guess, i got it from an antique store for 2$, i knew nothing about venice except what i learned from goofing off and playing civ 5 during year 12 and when i was a neet the following year, but it reminds me of offputting-unreadable 1970s travel guides with big blocks of text and very dated photography that mostly shows off the locale instead of helping you understand the historical context, -
(how does this shot of a ruin by the seaside help me understand why venice controlled most of greece...? idk)
i didnt't pay much attention while i was reading maybe i should go read it again with a more open mind (i wont)
(how does this shot of a ruin by the seaside help me understand why venice controlled most of greece...? idk)
i didnt't pay much attention while i was reading maybe i should go read it again with a more open mind (i wont)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2023
pretty noteworthy for being a history and travel book at once, and that fits the unique empire Venice was. the book has an overall aesthetic feel, not a scholarly one, and so I wouldn’t expect to learn as much history as you might like. you won’t, for example, learn the first 500 years of Venice’s history as a Byzantine vassal, nor will you learn what I really was curious about: how did Venice adopt such a unique mercantile republic centuries ahead of modern democracies? now that I mention it, you don’t really get a description of that republic’s structure itself.
it’s a quick, light read, though, and not bad as an introduction.
it’s a quick, light read, though, and not bad as an introduction.
October 4, 2024
Lovely book about an incredible empire, the battles between the Turks and the Venetians, the Crusades and some pretty awful deaths! Jan Morris travelled around the empire and she describes in beautiful detail the scenery, architecture and peoples of the region. Her writing is dense but full of enthusiasm and she is very knowledgeable about her subject. A beautiful description of a violent yet creative and clever period of history.
November 20, 2020
A very clever analysis of the relation between Venice and its colonies, structured as a trip from Euboea back to Venice via Cyprus, Crete, Corfu and Dalmatia. It totally changed my view of the Venetian empire - even the fact that I now think of it as an empire is new
January 4, 2024
An absolute gem of a book. Brings the old Venetian Empire to life through short chapters about the many waypoints of their trade empire. If you are traveling in Greece or along the Adriatic coast, this is an essential companion.
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August 5, 2024(𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣̃𝙖) 𝙙𝙚 𝙀𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙤. 𝙐𝙣 𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙟𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙧 𝙙𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙨 (@galloediciones )
𝙇𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖 𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣̃𝙖 𝙘𝙞𝙪𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙤́ 𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤
https://fanfan.es/el-imperio-venecian...
𝙇𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖 𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣̃𝙖 𝙘𝙞𝙪𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙤́ 𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙣 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤
https://fanfan.es/el-imperio-venecian...
August 3, 2025
they who know more about a place see more when beinh there- This work was at the same time necessary to umderstand the signifikante of Venice but at the same time to understand the historical beast within the cultural beauty of this place.
July 1, 2017
I had no idea how extensive the Venetian Empire was - wish I'd read this before visiting Venice, but still a great read.
December 7, 2017
One of the best travel authors out there
February 7, 2018
Read for Book Club - A great way to escape from an Irish January! I enjoy reading history and learn so much from this book.
September 14, 2022
One of the best travel and history books on the Mediterranean I have read
December 28, 2023
An interesting way to view the history of Venice but also a bit disjointed in the method of delivery (using a sea voyage as the narrative structure).
May 24, 2024
Classic Jan Morris, extensively researched (in libraries and in person) and written in brilliant evocative prose.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews