HISTORY OF VENICE

The course is addressed to students coming from all study areas.

On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge about the social, economic, cultural, and political history of Venice considered in the course;
2. demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyze and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship about the social, economic, cultural, and political history of Venice;
3. demonstrate, by way of class contribution, coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilizing relevant evidence;
demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.

No prerequisites are expected for the course.

Firstly, the course analyses the features and turning points in the Medieval and early Modern history of Venice.
Also, it examines the role of the historical scenario in shaping a collective identity of the city, its architecture and works of art.
Finally, the course offers analytical tools for understanding the current challenges, with which the city of Venice copes.
Between the 13th and 17th centuries the republic of Venice creates a powerful empire that controlled much of the Mediterranean. Situated at the imaginary boundary between East and West, the Venetians established a thriving merchant republic that allowed many social groups, religions, and ethnicities to coexist within its borders. This course explores some of the essentials features of Venetian society, as a microcosm of medieval and early modern European society. We will examine the relationships between center and periphery, order and disorder as well as the role of politics, art and culture in Venice. The course will conclude with a discussion of the decline of Venice as a political and economic power and its reinvention as a tourist site and living museum for the modern era.

This course is designed as a thematic introduction to Venetian history. As a result, there is no single reading that offers a continuous narrative of the important events and institutions. Students wishing to consult a standard history of the Venetian Republic should begin with Frederic C. Lane, Venice: A Maritime Republic (Baltimore, 1973); and Joanne Ferraro, Venice. History of the Floating City (Cambridge, 2012). For an excellent introduction to some of the most recent scholarship, see John Martin and Dennis Romano, eds., Venice Reconsidered: The History and Civilization of an Italian City-State, 1297-1797 (Baltimore, 2000). The only work to offer an introduction to original sources is David Chambers and Brian Pullan, eds., Venice: A Documentary History 1450-1630 (London, 1992).

Students taking this class will be required to write a short paper (5 pp; 30%); attend class regularly and participate in discussion (20%). I will expect each student to do one or two presentations on the readings with other students (50%).

The course consists of 12 frontal lectures.

Possible Field Trip
I am hoping to arrange a trip to the Archivio di Stato, which is the largest archive in Italy and holds kilometers of documents concerning the history of the Republic. A further trip will be arranged to the Arsenal, where ships were built since the Middle Ages. A third trip to an historical site is to be scheduled.

The detailed course syllabus will be available soon.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development