A HISTORY OF VENICE
La Serenissima
It was the worst of times and the most inauspicious of
beginnings. Forced into the swamps and marshes by
repeated waves of Germans, Huns, and rapacious
imperial troops, the refugees from the Italian mainland
found safety “living like sea birds” on the islands and
sandbars of an inhospitable lagoon. But gradually these
dispersed marsh dwellers coalesced into a viable
community that not only defended itself against
seemingly impossible odds, but ventured out onto the
high seas to create a maritime empire that spanned the
Mediterranean. For centuries Venice’s wealth, power,
and political stability were so unshakeable that
Europeans enviously referred to the republic simply as
La Serenissima, the Most Serene. In this course we will
trace Venice’s history from the flight to the lagoon,
through her centuries of glory, to her decline and
demise at the hands of Napoleon, then the Austrians,
and finally to her absorption into the new Italian state.
The lectures are richly illustrated with images, and
course material includes detailed printed lecture notes
and an extensively illustrated syllabus.
LECTURES:
Three lectures.
409 DVD. 3 lectures on DVD $20.00.
419 CD. 3 lectures on audio CD $16.00.
La Serenissima
It was the worst of times and the most inauspicious of
beginnings. Forced into the swamps and marshes by
repeated waves of Germans, Huns, and rapacious
imperial troops, the refugees from the Italian mainland
found safety “living like sea birds” on the islands and
sandbars of an inhospitable lagoon. But gradually these
dispersed marsh dwellers coalesced into a viable
community that not only defended itself against
seemingly impossible odds, but ventured out onto the
high seas to create a maritime empire that spanned the
Mediterranean. For centuries Venice’s wealth, power,
and political stability were so unshakeable that
Europeans enviously referred to the republic simply as
La Serenissima, the Most Serene. In this course we will
trace Venice’s history from the flight to the lagoon,
through her centuries of glory, to her decline and
demise at the hands of Napoleon, then the Austrians,
and finally to her absorption into the new Italian state.
The lectures are richly illustrated with images, and
course material includes detailed printed lecture notes
and an extensively illustrated syllabus.
LECTURES:
- The Lagoon: Flight to Safety.
- La Serenissima: Venice Rules the Seas.
- A Long Twilight: The Final Days of the Republic.
Three lectures.
409 DVD. 3 lectures on DVD $20.00.
419 CD. 3 lectures on audio CD $16.00.
VENICE
409 DVD: 3 lectures on DVD $20.00.
419 CD. 3 lectures on audio CD $16.00.
409 DVD: 3 lectures on DVD $20.00.
419 CD. 3 lectures on audio CD $16.00.
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