VENICE IN THE

RENAISSANCE
■ The Renaissance is an
important event in
European history that
stretched from the 14th
century to the 17th century.
– It was preceded by the
Middle Ages in Europe and
eventually led to the major
events of the Age of
Enlightenment.
■ In historical terms the Renaissance is
important because it led to a major
shift in European thought and
worldview.
– The Renaissance is considered to have
begun in the city-states of the Italian
peninsula, such as:
■ Genoa
■ Florence
■ Milan
■ Naples
■ Rome
■ Venice
■ In each of these city-states, the significant changes of the overall
Renaissance occurred and unfolded.
– For example, the most significant changes that emerged as a result
of the Renaissance can be seen in European:
■ Architecture
■ Art
■ Literature
■ Mathematics
■ Music
■ Philosophy
■ Politics
■ Religion
■ Science
■ Intellectual thought in these fields
flourished during the timeframe of
the Renaissance and led to many
people questioning long held
beliefs about each.
– This created an environment of
discovery and curiosity in which
new ideas were constantly being
introduced and tested.
■ As well, European life before the start of the Renaissance
was dominated by feudalism and the Manor System, but
these both played small roles for citizens in the powerful
Italian city-states.
– As such, the major Italian city-states listed previously
were well positioned to undergo the societal shift brought
about by the new Renaissance ideas.
■ Venice (or Venezia in
Italian) is one of the most
significant city-states
from the Renaissance in
Italy and developed along
the coast of the
northeastern section of
the Italian peninsula next
to the Adriatic Sea.
■ The city of Venice is located in the Venetian Lagoon which
is a shallow region filled with hundreds of islands.
– The city itself is constructed on a collection of 118 small
islands which are connected by bridges and canals.
VENICE FROM THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE
■ In fact, the city of Venice is
still world renown today for
its famous canal system.
– Historians believe that
people had been living in
the region since ancient
history but it became a
much more significant
area in the timeframe of
the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance.
■ The city-state of Venice was
originally established as a safe
haven for people fleeing
persecution following the
collapse of the Roman Empire.
– However, it soon
prospered as a region due
to trade in a variety of
different goods, most
notably salt.
■ Venice was well positioned as
a trading center for the
merchant class due to its
geographic position on the
coast of the Adriatic Sea.
– As such, this would
become a major feature
for the city-state
throughout its history.
■ As well, the Venice city-state
established itself as a
military power in the Italian
region due to its significant
naval units, which were
better equipped than others
in the area.
■ More specifically, throughout the time period of the Middle Ages, the Venice
navy was made up of galleys, which were warships that were mainly propelled
by an array of large oars that were used to row the ship forward.
– The galley was the largest and most heavily armed ship in the Venetian
navy.
■ At its height, Venice had over 3,000 ships in its navy, making it a
formidable force in the Adriatic Sea and surrounding areas.
■ The geographic location of Venice and its powerful navy were
important in establishing it as a major center for trade on the
Italian peninsula.
– For instance, throughout the timeframe of the Middle Ages,
Venice grew in both wealth and power due to its ability to
control trade between Europe and the Middle East.
■ This is exemplified by Venice’s participation and role in the crusades.
■ The crusades were a series of
religious wars carried out by
Christian crusaders from Europe
during the timeframe of the Middle
Ages.
– Beginning in 1095 CE, the
crusades saw European knights
and noblemen travel to the
Middle East in an attempt to
capture the Holy Land away
from Muslim people that had
controlled the region for the
previous centuries.
■ The term crusade means ‘cross’.
– Therefore, the Europeans that
became crusaders viewed
themselves as ‘taking up the
cross’.
■ In fact, many of the crusaders
wore crosses on their clothing and
armor as they made their
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
■ Venice played a significant role in the crusades.
– For instance, hundreds of Venetian ships were used in the First
Crusade in 1095 to capture coastal cities in the Middle East for
the European crusaders.
■ As well, Venice benefitted financially from transporting crusaders
from Northern Europe to the Holy Land.
■ This assistance in the crusades gave Venice extensive trading power
throughout the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire and
benefitted the city-state financially.
– For instance, it established trading ports throughout the rest of
Europe and the Middle East and became a gateway for goods
that were being shipped to the rest of Northern Europe.
■ As a result of its increased power and wealth, the city-state was
able to spread its authority over different regions throughout the
Adriatic Sea and on the mainland of the Italian peninsula
throughout the 14th and 15th centuries.
■ The wealth and power that Venice gained throughout the Middles Ages and
Renaissance, helped grow a strong merchant class who benefitted greatly from
trade.
– These merchants used their wealth to commission Renaissance art and
artists, which came to symbolize the main impacts of the Renaissance in
Italy.
■ The growth that Venice experienced as a trading center caused it to
come into conflict with other powerful city-states of the time
including Genoa.
– Genoa and Venice became bitter rivals during the late Middle
Ages and early Renaissance as each developed its own powerful
navy and trade routes.
■ For instance, this led to each competing for similar trading posts and for
influence in the Mediterranean and surround area.
– The conflict with the two city-states eventually resulted in the
Venetian-Genoese Wars which lasted from 1236 to 1381.
■ As with other cities in Europe at
the time, the city-state of Venice
was impacted by the events of
the Black Death.
– The plague spread from Asia
into Europe in 1347 and had
devastating impacts for all of
the European continent.
■ For instance, many historians
have argued that the large death
tolls of the Black Death led to
major societal changes, such as:
demise of the feudal system and
political and economic changes.
– Cities with large populations
were especially hit hard
because people were living in
much closer situations and
the plague was able to
spread more easily.
■ Regardless, an important event in the history of Venice was the
signing of the Treaty of Turin in 1381.
– The treaty ended the War of Chioggia, which was part of the
ongoing conflict between Genoa and its allies against Venice
and its allies.

Flag of Venice
■ In short, the treaty saw Venice as the victor
over Genoa.
– In reality, Venice narrowly won the
conflict and both city-states sought a
peace to end the conflict and focus
instead of commerce and trade.
■ Some historians have viewed the
concessions that Venice was forced
to agree to in the Treaty of Turin as
a sign of defeat.
– However, the peace that
followed the Treaty of Turin
benefitted both Genoa and
Venice as it allowed each to
focus on expanding their Venice Fort/Trading Port in Greece
wealth and influence.
■ As with other city-states of the time, Venice during the
Renaissance is referred to as a republic.
– Traditionally, a republic is a form of government in which the
people of the state have a great deal more power and influence
than they previously did under an absolute monarchy, which
was the common form of government in Middle Ages Europe.
■ In Venice, the leader of
the republic was
referred to as the Doge.
– It was an elected
position in which the
person could serve
as the leader for the
remainder of their
life.
Doge’s Palace Shown in the Middle
■ In the early years of the city-state,
the Doge ruled over Venice
almost as a monarch, but in later
years the position had its power
limited by the promissione
ducale.
– This was a pledge that the
Doge was to take when
elected that effectively
required him to share his
powers with a 480 member
Great Council.
Enrico Dandolo (Doge of Venice from 1192-1205)
■ The Great Council was made up of influential and wealthy families
in Venice society, and they voted exclusively or the Doge.
– As such, the aristocracy in Venice had a great deal of influence
over the government.
■ While the Doge was the leader, the Great Council and the Senate
had the real control over Venice as they introduced and passed
laws that impacted the whole society.
■ Another significant aspect of
Venice life were the Scuole
Grandi, which translates to
‘Great Schools’.
– The Scuole Grandi were
known as charitable and
religious organizations that
operated as an important
part of Venice social
structure.
■ For instance, the Scuole Grandi allowed members from all classes in
Venice society.
– Since the Great Council was composed of only wealthy families
of the Venice aristocracy, most people viewed the Scuole Grandi
as more representative since it allowed people from the lower
classes to influence the city-state.
■ As part of their function, Scuole Grandi were known to carry out
several different activities, including: sponsoring festivities within
Venice, distributing food and clothing to poorer members,
carrying out the burial of the poor, and the administration of
hospitals in the city-state.
Venice Gains Importance
■ It had a stable government
■ Successful in sea trade because it had a strong shipyard, naval base and
armory.
■ New merchant class supported the arts
■ Center of European book trade, it was the first Italian city-state to use the
mechanical printing press invented in the mid 1400s.
■ I had famous universities that promoted the study of science, medicine, and
law.
■ Many significant people emerge
from the city-state of Venice in
the timeframe of the Middle Ages
and Renaissance.
– One such significant individual
was the famous explorer
Marco Polo.
■ He was born in 1254 in
Venice, although details
about his childhood are
unclear.
– He is famous for his
travels to China and his
writings about his
adventure.
■ In his writings, he talked
about life in Asia ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’
including the Silk Road.