Venice, A Maritime Republic

By Frederic C. Lane

Book Overview

Combining engrossing detail and magisterial overview, Venice, A Maritime Republic traces the history of Venice from its origins in the sixth century through its rise and decline as the first modern... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080181460X
• ISBN13: 9780801814600
• Release Date: November 1973
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 587 Pages
• Weight: 2.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.9" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

This is one of the two classic histories of Venice; the other that by Norwich. As reference it is the superior volume. I keep returning to it on a very wide variety of topics on Venice. Thus, for instance, it does an excellent job of explaining the ownership and command structures, including the important and active role of common sailors aboard Venetian merchant ships. If you want to understand why Venice is so important to the understanding of what makes some democracies much more successful than others, this is a must book.

Solid History, but a little Jumbled

For someone with a serious interest in the development of the Venetian Empire on all fronts, this is a great and overwhelmingly informative book. Lane has done his homework, and casts light on all of the important corners of Venetian life--political, military, social, artistic, mercantile, etc. However, his assembly of this weatlh of information is a bit jagged, faltering especially in the books final third. He doesn't follow true chronology, but skips back and fourth between miniscule details from various centuries in the matter of a paragraph or two. This happens, too, in the great "Paris: Biography of a City" by Colin Jones, but he smartly groups these extrapolations out of the timeline into special subsections of his chapters. In Lane, though, it's very easy to find yourself lost at sea unless you really take your time. And lingering in his text can prove tedious, as the onslaught of dates and numbers for all order of minute detail (that could indeed prove very insightful in footnote form) that in the body of the text is more distracting than enlightening.

an anomalous history

In a time of absolute monarchies almost everywhere in Europe and Asia, Lane describes the history of an early republic, that managed to prosper for centuries. Nor was this the only anomaly of Venice. It had barely any land area, compared to many of its rivals like Constantinople. Of course, as the book explains, its most striking feature was the its placement in what was essentially a swamp, for defensive purposes. The book chronicles its rapid ascent and ingenuity in being flexible about trading with anyone. The many sea battles also attest to its continued vigilance. Readers might note the resemblences to Britain and its empire. The writing style is quite readable to a non-historian. Enhanced perhaps by a decision not to have footnotes. The illustrations are also well chosen.

VENICE: A MARITIME REPUBLIC

Frederic C. Lane's classic work is still the best general history on Venice. The frontpiece chronology alone is an invaluable reference for the scholar or the engaged tourist. The dean of Venice's historians, his work ties the maritime, merchantile, and industrial basis that spured trade and established the wealth of the Venetian republic to the city's cultural manifestations in art and politics.