Norwich's pet subject on which he is one of the eminent specialists.

Much like reading 1,000 years of strata minutes.

It took me a long time to read this book, partly because of its massive size, and partly because of its soporific effects. Accounts of the city's establishment was fascinating. Unfortunately this book sticks to the political ticks and convulsions, leaving out the sexy, and sordid details.The interminably long list of bureaucrats of Venice's past would be over the moon to discover they hadn't been forgotten by this author.

Side note about the author and his subject matter. He appears to be a minor British aristocrat; so it is not surprising that he mentions again and again, thorough the book, presumably for the benefit of those who skip over the suicidally boring bits, that Venice's government was the envy of the world. He furnishes no proof--but the claim itself is so incredibly hyperbolic such proof could never exist. So let's see: a modern aristocrat (contradiction in terms?) rhapsodizing about the golden age of hereditary oligarchy.

Cough. (followed by the sound of crickets chirping)

Covering the Republic of Venice's 1000+ years of existence up to its end in 1797, this thorough and well-researched book gives its readers a richly detailed history of this truly "most remarkable of cities".

Curious about Venice and her history? This book is perfect for you. It reads extremely well and takes care to explain things in a way that is accessible and unpretentious. Of course, the history of Venice cannot be told in a vacuum. Consequently, the readers also learn about some history of Europe, the Norman menace, the Crusades, the fall of Constantinople, numberless battles & shifting alliances, interdicts, papal/Valois/Habsburg shenanigans, Suleiman the Magnificent, Reformation, the Council of Trent, the Spanish War of Succession, and much more. Like all good history books, it makes you want to learn more about other things, too. (Case in point: I have next to me A Short History of Byzantium by the same author, which I will start reading right after I'm done writing this review.)

In addition to 5 maps at the beginning of the book, there are no less than 59 illustrations (pictures & paintings - sadly ALL in black & white), these being divided into two sections. What I would've liked to see? Some colour! Instead of printing these in B&W on the same type of paper as the rest of the book, why not print them in colour on some glossy paper? This way the images' splendour would remained unspoiled.

"A History Of Venice" was first published in two volumes (in 1977 and 1981, respectively), then published in single volume form in 1982. So this edition marks the 30th anniversary of the book. This being a sort of "anniversary edition", that little extra (ie: the colours!) would've been just the thing to make it special.

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Fascinating but a bit dry for my taste.

Lectura interesante, sin duda, pero en la hay que ser conscientes que es la visión de la historia de Venecia -y la península italiana- de un inglés de la upperclass protestante. Y a esa visión sesgada, como casi todo lo humano, hay que atribuir ciertas afirmaciones, comparaciones y omisiones del autor cuestionables desde otros enfoques más atlánticos.

John Julius Norwich’s knowledge of Venice's history is impressive and this book is a window to the achievements of the “Most Serene Republic” over its more than 1,000 years of existence, during which she had been the mistress of the Mediterranean, the principal crossroads between East and West, the richest and most prosperous commercial centre of the civilized world.
The city, built on the marches of a lagune in a corner of the Adriatic, had only salt and fish as resources. The inhabitants chose the seafaring trade as their way to make a prosperous living. They proved to be industrious, and the democratic system of the government they created, better than anywhere else at that time, allowed individuals to be enterprising and prosper.
“Nowhere did men live more happily, nowhere did they enjoy more freedom from fear. The Venetians were fortunate indeed. Disenfranchised they might be; they were never downtrodden. Although, being human, they might occasionally complain of their government, not once in all their history did, they ever rise up against it”.
The story is fascinating and the author tells it, in a language I felt is a bit outdated, with both love and objectivity. Regrettably, he decided to concentrate too much on the details of each and every Doge, instead of only the most important ones. Thus, we learn almost nothing about the cultural, economic, and day-to-day life of the city or about the important personalities other than the political ones.

Ended up skimming. Not the best read

3.5 stars rounded up because it is a good history book, but you really need to prepare to committing yourself to a thousand years of history in 635 pages. This is a sweeping work that mercifully keeps what year you are reading about at the top of the even pages. With all the twists and turns of normal Italian history, Venice stands apart for a few reasons. Until their capitulation to Napoleon, it was the longest running continuous constitutional government on the peninsula. Their form of government was a learning institution that derived its strength from the preservation of state and not the whims of the ruling class or the Doge. It would seek to curb state organ powers that threatened the Republic itself. Doge's for that matter as the author points out, distinguished themselves not by what the did, but what they did not do -- wars, alliances, and at the end ignoring the necessity for armed neutrality. The state itself was not tightly coupled to the familial intrigues of the ruling elites on the rest of the continent. Rather, it was able to form and leave alliances as it best suit their needs. This is not itself unique in the time periods covered, but there was less concern about their families ascending to thrones elsewhere. Unless it introduced instability into one of the adjacent kingdoms. Like all empires, as its arc started to decline, their policy shifted from expansion to maintaining the status quo. This was not always tenable as greater powers threatened Venice's interests and they were regularly brought into conflict that caused centuries of prosperous peaks and lean valleys. When Venice obtained its long peace in the 18th Century, its focus on defensive power wained... Its organic capacity for ship building suffered as it lost command of the Adriatic and the lines of communication & commerce it held for hundreds of years fell to other powers. This was self reinforcing because had it maintained modern naval power, it could have exerted influence to preserve the resources it must import for certain industries, like ship building. Ultimately Venice's policy of neutrality post-empire lacked the important feature of being defensible through military power.

Best tidbit from the book -- The word arsenal comes from Doge Ordelafo's decision to co-locate shipbuilding industries together and borrowed the Arabic word Dar Sina'a which translates to house of construction.

An engaging, well written, and approachable history of Venice. A must read before visiting the city

Monumental.

I had to quit after 19 chapters - probably about halfway through. I'll need to pick it up again another time, because I'm just done with all the battling back and forth for now. It's an excellent book, though!