Exploring Venice
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Venice
Etymology[edit]
The name of the city, deriving from Latin forms Venetia and Venetiae, is most likely taken from "Venetia et Histria", the Roman name of Regio X of Roman Italy, but applied to the coastal part of the region that remained under Roman Empire outside of Gothic, Lombard, and Frankish control. The name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Enetoi (Ἐνετοί). The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti and the Slavic Vistula Veneti. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen ("love"), so that *wenetoi would mean "beloved", "lovable", or "friendly". A connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color 'sea-blue', is also possible. Supposed connections of Venetia with the Latin verb venire (to come), such as Marin Sanudo's veni etiam ("Yet, I have come!"), the supposed cry of the first refugees to the Venetian lagoon from the mainland, or even with venia ("forgiveness") are fanciful. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia [viˈnɛːdʒa];[17] (Venetian: Venèxia [veˈnɛzja]; Latin: Venetiae; Slovene: Benetke; Croatian: Venecija).
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Historical affiliations
Western Roman Empire 421–476
Kingdom of Odoacer 476–493
Ostrogothic Kingdom 493–553
Eastern Roman Empire 553–584
Exarchate of Ravenna 584–697
Republic of Venice 697–1797
Habsburg Monarchy 1797–1805
Kingdom of Italy 1805–1815
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia1815–1848
Republic of San Marco 1848–1849
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia1849–1866
Kingdom of Italy 1866–1946
Italian Republic 1946–presentOstrogothic Kingdom 493–553
Eastern Roman Empire 553–584
Exarchate of Ravenna 584–697
Republic of Venice 697–1797
Habsburg Monarchy 1797–1805
Kingdom of Italy 1805–1815
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia1815–1848
Republic of San Marco 1848–1849
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia1849–1866
Kingdom of Italy 1866–1946
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Although no surviving historical records deal directly with the founding of Venice,[18] tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino, and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Huninvasions.[19] This is further supported by the documentation on the so-called 'apostolic families', the twelve founding families of Venice who elected the first doge, who in most cases trace their lineage back to Roman families.[20][21] Some late Roman sources also reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore")—said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421 (the Feast of the Annunciation).[22][23]
Beginning as early as AD 166–168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila. The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsula, that of the Lombards in 568, left the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the Exarchate of Ravenna, administered from that ancient port and overseen by a viceroy (the Exarch) appointed by the Emperor in Constantinople, but Ravenna and Venice were connected only by sea routes; and with the Venetians' isolated position came increasing autonomy. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, dated from c. 568.[24]
The traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto (Anafestus Paulicius), was elected in 697, as written in the oldest chronicle by John, deacon of Venice in ca. 1008. Some modern historians claim Paolo Lucio Anafesto was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Paul's magister militum (General: literally, "Master of Soldiers"). In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II. The Exarch, held responsible for the acts of his master Byzantine Emperor Leo III, was murdered and many officials put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own independent leader for the first time, although the relationship of this to the uprisings is not clear. Ursus was the first of 117 "doges" (doge is the Venetian dialect development of the Latin dux ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is duke, in standard Italian duce.) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo III's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition of this, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the field, was confirmed by Leo as dux[25] and given the added title of hypatus (Greek for "Consul".)[26]
In 751 the Lombard King Aistulf conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna, leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories, as refugees sought asylum there. In 775/6 the episcopal seat of Olivolo (San Pietro di Castello; Helipolis[citation needed]) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811–827) the ducal seat moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here.
Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his own rule. He ordered the Pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast,[27] and Charlemagne's own son Pepin of Italy, king of the Lombards under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw in 810. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.
In 828 the new city's prestige increased with the acquisition of the claimed relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. (Winged lions, visible throughout Venice, are the heraldic crests of St. Mark.) The patriarchal seat also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, its autonomy grew, leading to eventual independence.[28]
Expansion[edit]
From the 9th to the 12th century, Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara: the other three of these were Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable.[citation needed] With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast, the city became a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and Asia) with a naval power protecting sea routes from piracy.[29]
The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the Republic dominated the trade in salt,[30] acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Crete, and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders.
Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called Golden Bulls or "chrysobulls" in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire; but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power.[31][32]
Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which were originally placed above the entrance to the cathedral of Venice, St Mark's Basilica, although the originals have been replaced with replicas and are now stored within the basilica. After the fall of Constantinople, the former Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago, and captured Crete.[33]
The seizure of Constantinople proved as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half-century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453.
Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "Doge", or duke, the chief executive, who usually held the title until his death; although several Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by political failure.
The Venetian government structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).
Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and executed nobody for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican divine William Bedell are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most noted, occasion was in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V.
Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians.
The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world, and the leading printer was Aldus Manutius, who invented paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.[34]
Decline[edit]
Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to hold Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II, he declared the first of a series of Ottoman-Venetian warsthat cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492. Then Vasco da Gama of Portugal found a sea route to India by rounding the Cape of Good Hope during his first voyage of 1497–99, destroying Venice's land route monopoly. France, England and the Dutch Republic followed. Venice's oared galleys were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing the great oceans, and therefore Venice was left behind in the race for colonies.
The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577.[35] In three years, the plague killed some 50,000 people.[36] In 1630, the Italian plague of 1629–31 killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.[37] Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth; while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products, and until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center.
Modern age[edit]
During the 18th century, Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture and literature. But the Republic lost its independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the War of the First Coalition. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.
Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. But Venice was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy; however it was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848 and 1849, a revolt briefly re-established the Venetian Republicunder Daniele Manin. In 1866, after the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
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During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Forceprecision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on the city itself.[38]However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed.[39] On 29 April 1945, a force of Britishand New Zealand troops under Lieutenant General Freyberg of the British Eighth Army liberated Venice, which had been a hotbed of anti-Mussolini Italian partisan activity.[40][41]
Subsidence[edit]
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Subsidence, the gradual lowering of the surface of Venice, has led to the seasonal Acqua alta when much of the city's surface is occasionally covered at high tide.
Foundations[edit]
The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on plates of Istrian limestone placed on top of the piles,[42] and buildings of brick or stonesit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.
Submerged in water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.
Most of these piles were made from trunks of alder trees,[43] a wood noted for its water resistance.[44] The alder came from the westernmost part of today's Slovenia(resulting in the barren land of the Kras region); two regions of Croatia, Lika and Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of Velebit); and south of Montenegro.[citation needed]
History[edit]
The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city.[45] This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment.
In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief, Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of a 'stamp tax'.[citation needed] When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted instructions, which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. At first, this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until the fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax, Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the practice spread to other countries.
During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside. It was realized that extraction of water from the aquifer was the cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses, the former staircases used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.
Studies indicate that the city continues sinking at a relatively slow rate of 1–2 mm per annum;[46][47] therefore, the state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea.[48] This engineering work is due to be completed by 2018.[49]
The project is not guaranteed to be successful and the cost has been very high, according to a spokesman for the FAI (similar to a National Trust). "Mose is a pharaonic project that should have cost €800m [£675m] but will cost at least €7bn [£6bn]. If the barriers are closed at only 90cm of high water, most of St Mark's will be flooded anyway; but if closed at very high levels only, then people will wonder at the logic of spending such sums on something that didn't solve the problem. And pressure will come from the cruise ships to keep the gates open."[50] Approximately €2 billion of the cost has been lost to corruption.[51]
Geography[edit]
Sestieri[edit]
The whole pensolon (municipality) is divided into 6 boroughs. One of these (the historic city) is divided into six areas called sestieri: Cannaregio (including San Michele), San Polo, Dorsoduro (including Giudecca and Sacca Fisola), Santa Croce, San Marco(including San Giorgio Maggiore) and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff. Now, each sestiere is a statistical and historical area without any degree of autonomy. The six fingers or phalanges of the ferro on the bow of a gondola represent the six sestieri.
The sestieri are divided into parishes – initially 70 in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just 38. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170. Each parish exhibited unique characteristics but also belonged to an integrated network. The community chose its own patron saint, staged its own festivals, congregated around its own market center, constructed its own bell towers and developed its own customs.[52]
Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.
Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner.
Climate[edit]
According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 3.3 °C (37.9 °F), and for July this figure is 23.0 °C (73.4 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 748 millimetres (29.4 in).
| hideClimate data for Venice (1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.1 (61.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 24.9 (76.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 17.2 (63.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 4.7 (40.5) | 8.3 (46.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 17.1 (62.8) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.6 (72.7) | 18.9 (66.0) | 13.8 (56.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 4.0 (39.2) | 13.0 (55.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −0.1 (31.8) | 0.8 (33.4) | 4.1 (39.4) | 7.8 (46.0) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.3 (64.9) | 17.7 (63.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 9.6 (49.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 0.6 (33.1) | 8.8 (47.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 47.0 (1.85) | 48.3 (1.90) | 48.8 (1.92) | 70.0 (2.76) | 66.0 (2.60) | 78.0 (3.07) | 63.9 (2.52) | 64.8 (2.55) | 72.0 (2.83) | 73.5 (2.89) | 65.5 (2.58) | 50.6 (1.99) | 748.4 (29.46) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.0 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 78.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 81 | 77 | 75 | 75 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 72 | 75 | 77 | 79 | 81 | 75.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 80.6 | 107.4 | 142.6 | 174.0 | 229.4 | 243.0 | 288.3 | 257.3 | 198.0 | 151.9 | 87.0 | 77.5 | 2,037 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 29 | 38 | 38 | 41 | 49 | 51 | 62 | 59 | 51 | 45 | 29 | 28 | 43 |
| Source #1: MeteoAM (sun and humidity 1961–1990)[53][54] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Weather Atlas[55] | |||||||||||||
| hideClimate data for Venice | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average sea temperature °C (°F) | 9.9 (49.8) | 8.7 (47.7) | 9.9 (49.8) | 13.4 (56.1) | 18.6 (65.5) | 23.4 (74.1) | 25.4 (77.7) | 25.4 (77.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 16.0 (60.8) | 13.2 (55.8) | 17.2 (63.0) |
| Mean daily daylight hours | 9.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 15.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 12.3 |
| Average Ultraviolet index | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4.3 |
| Source #1: seatemperature.org (avg. sea temperature)[56] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Weather Atlas[55] | |||||||||||||
Government[edit]
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The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council (Consiglio Comunale), which is composed of 45 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, contextually[clarification needed] to the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), composed of 12 assessors nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor.
Venice was governed by center-left parties from the 1990s until the 2010s, when the mayor started to be elected directly. Its region Veneto has long been a conservative stronghold, with the coalition between the regionalist Lega Nord and the center-right Forza Italia winning absolute majorities of the electorate in many elections at communal, national, and regional levels.
After a corruption scandal that forced the center-left mayor Giorgio Orsoni to resign, Venice voted for the first time in June 2015 for a conservative directly elected mayor: the center-right businessman Luigi Brugnaro won the election in the second round of voting with the 53% of the votes against the leftist magistrate and member of the Italian Senate Felice Casson, who led in the first round with 38% of the votes.[57]
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The municipality of Venice is subdivided into six administrative Boroughs (Municipalità). Each Borough is governed by a Council (Consiglio) and a President, elected contextually[clarification needed] to the city Mayor. The urban organization is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The Boroughs have the power to advise the Mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition, they are supplied with autonomous funding to finance local activities. The Boroughs are:
Lagoon area:
- Venezia (historic city) –Murano–Burano (also known as Venezia insulare): population: 69,136
- Lido–Pellestrina (also known as Venezia litorale): population 21,664
Mainland (terraferma), annexed with a Royal Decree, in 1926, to the municipality of Venezia:
- Favaro Veneto: population 23,615
- Mestre–Carpenedo (also known as Mestre centro): population 88,952
- Chirignago–Zelarino: population 38,179
- Marghera: population 28,466
After the 2015 elections, five of the six boroughs are governed by the Democratic Party and its allies, and one by the center-right mayoral majority.
Economy[edit]
Venice's economy has changed throughout history. Although there is little specific information about the earliest years, it is likely that an important source of the city's prosperity was the trade in slaves, captured in central Europe and sold to North Africa and the Levant. Venice's location at the head of the Adriatic, and directly south of the terminus of the Brenner Pass over the Alps, would have given it a distinct advantage as a middleman in this important trade. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Venice was a major center for commerce and trade, as it controlled a vast sea-empire, and became an extremely wealthy European city, a leader in political and economic affairs and a centre for trade and commerce.[58] From the 11th century until the 15th century, pilgrimages to the Holy Land were offered in Venice. Other ports such as Genoa, Pisa, Marseille, Ancona and Dubrovnik were hardly able to make any competition to the well organized transportation of pilgrims from Venice.[59][60]
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This all changed by the 17th century, when Venice's trade empire was taken over by other countries such as Portugal, and its naval importance was reduced. In the 18th century, then, it became a major agricultural and industrial exporter. The 18th century's biggest industrial complex was the Venice Arsenal, and the Italian Army still uses it today (even though some space has been used for major theatrical and cultural productions, and spaces for art).[61] Since World War II many Venetians have moved to Mestre and Marghera seeking employment as well as affordable housing.[62]
Today, Venice's economy is mainly based on tourism, shipbuilding (mainly done in the neighboring cities of Mestre and Porto Marghera), services, trade and industrial exports.[58] Murano glass production in Murano and lace production in Burano are also highly important to the economy.[58]
The city is facing financial challenges. In late 2016, it had a major deficit in its budget and debts in excess of €400 million. "In effect, the place is bankrupt", according to a report by The Guardian.[63] Many locals are leaving the historic center due to rapidly increasing rental costs. The declining native population affects the character of the city as an October 2016 National Geographic article pointed out in its subtitle: "Residents are abandoning the city, which is in danger of becoming an overpriced theme park".[51] The city is also facing some major challenges including erosion, pollution, subsidence, an excessive number of tourists in peak periods and problems caused by oversized cruise ships sailing close to the banks of the historical city.[12]
In June 2017, Italy was required to bail out two banks in Venice to prevent bankruptcies of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca.[64] Both companies will be wound down and their assets with value will be taken over by another Italian bank, Intesa Sanpaolo which received €5.2 billion as compensation. The Italian government will be responsible for losses from any uncollectible loans from the now-closed banks. The cost may be as high as €5.2 billion but the guarantees to cover bad loans total €12 billion.[65]
Tourism[edit]
Venice is an important tourist destination for its celebrated art and architecture.[66]The city gets up to 60,000 tourists per day (2017 estimate). Estimates as to the annual number of tourists vary from 22 million to 30 million.[67][68][69] This 'overtourism' creates overcrowding and environmental problems in its canal ecosystem. By 2017, UNESCO was considering the addition of Venice to its "In-Danger" list, which includes historical ruins in war-torn countries. To reduce the number of visitors, who are causing irreversible changes in Venice, the agency supports limiting the number of cruise ships[70][71] as well as creating a full strategy for a more sustainable tourism.[72]
Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th century, when it was a major center for the Grand Tour, with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it became a fashionable centre for the "rich and famous", who often stayed and dined at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffè Florian. It continued to be a fashionable city into the early 20th century.[66] In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions.[66]
Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities, and mainly people in the cinematic industry. The city also relies heavily on the cruise business.[66] The Cruise Venice Committee has estimated that cruise ship passengers spend more than 150 million euros (US$193 million) annually in the city according to a 2015 report.[73] Other reports, however, point out that such day-trippers spend relatively little in the few hours of their visits to the city.[63]
Venice is regarded by some as a tourist trap, and by others as a "living museum".[66] Unlike most other places in Western Europe, and the world, Venice has become widely known for its element of elegant decay. The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice has made prices rise so high that numerous inhabitants are forced to move to more affordable areas of Veneto and Italy, the most notable being Mestre.
Minimising the effects of tourism[edit]
The need to balance the jobs produced by cruise tourism with the protection of the city's historic environment and fragile canals has seen the Italian Transport Ministry attempt to introduce a ban on large cruise ships visiting the city. A 2013 ban would have allowed only cruise ships smaller than 40,000-gross tons to enter the Giudecca Canal and St Mark's basin.[74] In January, a regional court scrapped the ban, but some global cruise lines indicated that they would continue to respect it until a long-term solution for the protection of Venice is found.[75]
For example, P&O Cruises removed Venice from its summer schedule, Holland America moved one of its ships from this area to Alaska and Cunard is reducing (in 2017 and further in 2018) the number of visits by its ships. As a result, the Venice Port Authority estimated an 11.4 per cent drop in cruise ships arriving in 2017 versus 2016, leading to a similar reduction in income for Venice.[76]
The city also considered a ban on wheeled suitcases, but settled on banning hard wheels for cargo from May 2015.[77]
In addition to accelerating erosion of the ancient city's foundations and creating some pollution in the lagoon,[51][78] cruise ships dropping an excessive number of day trippers can make St. Marks Square and other popular attractions too crowded to walk through during the peak season. Government officials see little value to the economy from the "eat and flee" tourists who stay for less than a day, which is typical of those from cruise ships.[79]
Having failed in its 2013 bid to ban oversized cruise ships from the Giudecca canal, the city switched to a new strategy in mid-2017, banning the creation of any additional hotels; currently, there are over 24,000 hotel rooms. (The ban does not affect short-term rentals in the historic center which is causing an increase in rent for the native residents of Venice.)[63] The city had already banned any additional fast food "take-away" outlets to retain the historic character of the city; this was another reason for freezing the number of hotel rooms.[80] Less than half the millions of annual visitors stay overnight, however.[67][68]
Some locals were aggressively lobbying for new methods that would reduce the number of cruise ship passengers; their estimate indicated that there are up to 30,000 such sightseers per day at peak periods,[69] while others concentrate their effort on promoting a more responsible way of visiting the city.[81] An unofficial referendum to ban large cruise ships was held in June 2017. More than 18,000 people voted at 60 polling booths set up by activists and 17,874 chose to favor the ban on ships from the lagoon. The population of Venice at the time was about 50,000.[79] The organizers of the referendum backed a plan to build a new cruise ship terminal at one of the three entrances to the Venetian Lagoon. Passengers would be transferred to smaller boats to take them to the historic area.[82][83] In 2014, the United Nations warned the city that it may be placed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger sites unless cruise ships are banned from the canals near the historic centre.[78]
In November 2017, an official Comitatone released a specific plan to keep the largest cruise ships away from the Piazza San Marco and the entrance to the Grand Canal. [84] Ships over 55,000 tons will be required to follow a specified path through another canal to a new passenger port to be built in Marghera, an industrial area of the mainland. According to the officials, it will take four years in total to work on the project. However, a lobby group, 'No Grandi Navi' (No big Ships), argued that the effects of pollution caused by the ships can not be diminished.[85]
In the last week of 2018, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced that the "overnight" tax on visitors (charged to those staying in hotels) would be extended. Every visitor to the historic centre, including day-trippers, would be required to pay the tax. The extra revenue would be used for cleaning and maintaining security, to reduce the financial burden on residents of Venice and to "allow Venetians to live with more decorum". The fee per person had not yet been set, but the mayor was considering an amount somewhere between €2.50 and €10 per person, with exemptions for a few types of travelers, including students. Since the area gets roughly 30 million visitors per year, the total revenue will be of great value.[86]
Foreign words of Venetian origin[edit]
Some words with a Venetian etymology include arsenal, ciao, ghetto, gondola, imbroglio, lagoon, lazaret, lido, Montenegro, and regatta.[87] The name "Venezuela" is a Spanish diminutive of Venice (Veneziola).[88] Many additional places around the world are named after Venice, e.g., Venice, Los Angeles, home of Venice Beach; Venice, Alberta, in Canada; Venice, Florida, a city in Sarasota County; Venice, New York.
Transportation[edit]
In the historic centre[edit]
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Venice is built on an archipelago of 118 islands[3] formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges.[89] In the old centre, the canals serve the function of roads, and almost every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century, a causeway to the mainland brought the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station to Venice, and the Ponte della Libertà road causeway and parking facilities (in Tronchetto island and in piazzale Roma) were built during the 20th century. Beyond the road and rail land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains (as it was in centuries past) entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car-free area. Venice is unique in Europe, in having remained a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, (plural: gondole) although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies, or as 'traghetti' (sing.: traghetto) to cross the Canale Grande in the absence of a nearby bridge. The traghetti are operated by two oarsmen; for some years there were seven such boats but by 2017, only three remained.[90]
There are approximately 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice in their distinctive regalia and a similar number of the boats, down from 10,000 that travelled the canals two centuries ago.[91][92] Many gondolas are lushly appointed with crushed velvet seats and Persian rugs. Less well-known is the smaller sandolo. At the front of each gondola that works in the city, there is a large piece of metal called the fèro (iron). Its shape has evolved through the centuries, as documented in many well-known paintings. Its form, topped by a likeness of the Doge's hat, became gradually standardized, and was then fixed by local law. It consists of six bars pointing forward representing the Sestieri of the city, and one that points backwards representing the Giudecca.[92][93]
Waterways[edit]
Venice is a city of small islands, enhanced during the Middle Ages by the dredging of soils to raise the marshy ground above the tides. The resulting canals encouraged the flourishing of a nautical culture which proved central to the economy of the city. Today those canals still provide the means for transport of goods and people within the city.
The maze of canals threaded through the city requires the use of more than 400 bridges to permit the flow of foot traffic. In 2011, the city opened Ponte della Costituzione, the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal, connecting the Piazzale Roma bus terminal area with the Stazione Ferroviaria (train station), the others being the original Ponte di Rialto, the Ponte dell'Accademia, and the Ponte degli Scalzi.
Public transport[edit]
Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is a public company responsible for public transportation in Venice.
Lagoon area[edit]
The main public transportation means are motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which ply regular routes along the Grand Canal and between the city's islands. The only gondole still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferriescrossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Other gondole target tourists on an hourly basis.[92]
The Venice People Mover (managed by ASM) is a cable-operated public transitsystem connecting Tronchetto island with Piazzale Roma. Water taxis are also active.
Lido and Pellestrina islands[edit]
Lido and Pellestrina are two islands forming a barrier between the southern Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. In those islands, road traffic is allowed. There are bus services on islands and waterbus services linking islands with other islands (Venice, Murano, Burano) and with the peninsula of Cavallino-Treporti.
Mainland[edit]
The mainland of Venice is composed of 5 boroughs: Mestre-Carpenedo, Marghera, Chirignago-Zelarino and Favaro Veneto. Mestre is the center and the most populated urban area of the mainland of Venice. There are several bus routes and two Translohr tramway lines. Several bus routes and one of the above tramway lines link the mainland with Piazzale Roma, the main bus station in Venice, via Ponte della Libertà, a road bridge connecting the mainland with the group of islands that comprise the historic center of Venice. The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Venice, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 52 min. 12.2% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 10 min, while 17.6% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 7 km, while 12% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[94]
Trains[edit]
Venice has regional and national trains, including trains to Florence (1h53), Rome (3h33), Naples (4h50), Milan (2h13) and Turin (3h10). In addition there are international day trains to Zurich, Innsbruck, Munich and Vienna, plus overnight sleeper services to Paris and Dijon (Thello), Munich and Vienna (ÖBB).
- The St Lucia station is a few steps away from a vaporetti stop in the historic city next to Piazzale Roma. As well as many more local trains, this station is the terminus of the luxury Venice Simplon Orient Express from Paris and London.
- The Mestre station is on the mainland, on the border between the boroughs of Mestre and Marghera.
Both stations are managed by Grandi Stazioni; they are linked by the Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) between the mainland and the islands.
Others small stations in the municipality are Venezia Porto Marghera, Venezia Carpenedo, Venezia Mestre Ospedale, Venezia Mestre Porta Ovest.
Ports[edit]
The Port of Venice (Italian: Porto di Venezia) is the eighth-busiest commercial port in Italy and is one of the most important in the Mediterranean concerning the cruise sector, as a major hub for cruise ships. It is one of the major Italian ports and is included in the list of the leading European ports which are located on the strategic nodes of trans-European networks. In 2006, 30,936,931 tonnes passed through the port, of which 14,541,961 was the commercial sector, and saw 1,453,513 passengers. In 2002, the port handled 262,337 containers.[95]
Airports[edit]
Venice is served by the Marco Polo International Airport (Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo), named in honor of its noted citizen. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast. Public transport from the airport takes one to:
- Venice Piazzale Roma by ATVO (provincial company) buses[96] and by ACTV (city company) buses (route 5 aerobus);[97]
- Venice, Lido and Murano by Alilaguna (private company) motor boats;
- Mestre, the mainland and Venice Mestre railway station (convenient for connections to Milan, Padova, Trieste, Verona and the rest of Italy) by ACTV lines (route 15 and 45)[97] and by ATVO lines;
- regional destinations (Treviso, Padua, the beach, ...) by ATVO buses and by Busitalia Sita Nord[98] buses (national company).
Some airlines market Treviso Airport in Treviso, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Venice, as a Venice gateway. Some simply advertise flights to "Venice", while naming the actual airport only in small print.[99] There are public buses from this airport to Venice.
Venezia-Lido "Giovanni Nicelli",[100] a public airport suitable for smaller aircraft, is at the NE end of Lido di Venezia. It has a 994-metre grass runway.
Sport[edit]
The most Venetian sport is probably the "Voga alla Veneta", also commonly called "Voga Veneta". The Venetian Rowing is a technique invented in the Venetian Lagoon which has the particularity to see the rower(s), one or more, rowing standing looking forward. Today, the Voga alla Veneta is not only the way the Gondolier row tourists around Venice but also the way Venetians row for pleasure and sport. Many races called regata(e) happen throughout the year.[101] The culminating event of the rowing season is the day of the "Regata Storica", happening on the first Sunday of September each year.[102]
The main football club in the city is Venezia F.C., founded in 1907, which currently plays in the Serie B. Their ground, the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo situated in Sant'Elena, is one of the oldest venues in Italy.
The local basketball club is Reyer Venezia Mestre, founded in 1872 as gymnastics club Società Sportiva Costantino Reyer, and in 1907 as the basketball club. Reyer currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A. The men's team won the Italian Championships in 1942, 1943 and 2017. Their arena is the Palasport Giuseppe Taliercio situated in Mestre. Luigi Brugnaro is both the president of the club and the mayor of the city.
Education[edit]
Venice is a major international centre for higher education. The city hosts the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, founded in 1868;[103] the Università Iuav di Venezia, founded in 1926;[104] the Venice International University, an international research center, founded in 1995 and located on the island of San Servolo;[105] and the EIUC-European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation, located on the island of Lido di Venezia.[106]
Other Venetian institutions of higher education are: the "Accademia di Belle Arti" (Academy of Fine Arts), established in 1750, whose first chairman was Giovanni Battista Piazzetta;[107] and the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory of Music, which, established in 1876 as High School and Musical Society, later (1915) became "Liceo Musicale" and finally (1940), when its Director was Gian Francesco Malipiero, State Conservatory of Music.[108]
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