The Story of Famous Cities--European Urban Style Through the Eyes of Architects

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Features: The history of Venice is also extraordinary. In the early days, there were only some fishermen on the islands of the lagoon. In the 6th century, due to the chaos in the Italian Peninsula, some wealthy people fled to the islands, forming communities. Venice was once under the rule of the Byzantine Empire and became an independent city-state republic in the mid-9th century. At its peak, Venice controlled vast areas around the Mediterranean, and by the second half of the 14th century, it had become a maritime power with thousands of merchant ships and many colonies. Its powerful navy had 25,000 sailors. Venetian merchant ships reached England, France, and even the Black Sea, trading with countries like Russia. After the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople in 1204, Venice acquired vast wealth and occupied some ports and territories of the Byzantine Empire. The late renowned Chinese scholar Guo Jun had long pointed out that Venice at that time "did not become a 'Utopia,' but developed into a wealthy, powerful commercial republic capable of influencing the actions of the Crusaders, with strong merchant fleets and navies." Venice long controlled maritime trade between the East and the West and engaged in the slave trade. There is a record that says: "Venetian merchants seemed superior to all competitors in supplying concubines and slaves to the Muslim world." Venetian industries, such as shipbuilding, textiles, and glassmaking, were highly developed. At its peak, there were 6,000 shipbuilding craftsmen and 16,000 woolen textile craftsmen. Why did Venice have such prosperous commercial activities? This is because Venice was built on a lagoon island in the Adriatic Sea, close to the Italian mainland but not connected to it, allowing it to avoid the turmoil on the Italian Peninsula. Moreover, Venice had no hinterland or resources and could only turn to the sea for development. Venice is located at the northernmost tip of the Adriatic Sea. In the Middle Ages, the eastern side of the Adriatic was the Byzantine Empire, and further east was the vast Eastern world, placing Venice between the East and the West. The southern side of the Adriatic borders the Mediterranean, as if Venice had a natural waterway exclusively for reaching the world. This geographical location turned the small city-state built on a reef island into a dominant maritime commercial power in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. Marco Polo, who came to China in 1275 and stayed for 20 years, came from Venice. This example shows how skilled the Venetians were in navigating the world. Shakespeare's famous play The Merchant of Venice also tells us how cunning Venetian merchants and moneylenders were, as they would go to great lengths and use any means to make money. During the Middle Ages, Venice was extremely prosperous. In 1284, Venice began minting the gold coin "Ducat," which became the currency of Europe at the time. At one point, the tiny Venice had an annual revenue of 1 million Ducats, a figure that exceeded the combined income of England and Spain and was on par with that of all of France. The political organization of the Venetian Republic in the Middle Ages was also very unique—it was a republic, standing out in the feudal Middle Ages. The upper echelons of Venetian society consisted of merchant shipowners, financial tycoons, and other merchant nobles, while the lower ranks included accountants, various craftsmen, and so on, with no large landowners or feudal nobles. The government of Venice was controlled by a group of commercial nobles. The legislative body was called the "Great Council," elected by hundreds of aristocratic families listed in the "Golden Book." Later, membership became hereditary. From the "Great Council" emerged the "Senate," which held executive power. The head of state was called the "Doge" (or translated as Duke). In the 14th century, a "Committee of Ten" was established, which had immense power and supervised all individuals, using brutal means such as intimidation, assassination, secret trials, and torture to persecute opponents. The politics of the Venetian Republic were known for their intrigue and darkness. P10-11