Venice

A New History

By: Professor Thomas F. Madden

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years. Using long-buried archival material and a wealth of newly translated documents, Madden weaves a spellbinding story of a place and its people, tracing an arc from the city’s humble origins as a lagoon refuge to its apex as a vast maritime empire and Renaissance epicenter to its rebirth as a modern tourist hub. Madden explores all aspects of Venice’s breathtaking achievements: the construction of its unparalleled navy, its role as an economic powerhouse and birthplace of capitalism, its popularization of opera, the stunning architecture of its watery environs, and more. He sets these in the context of the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire, the endless waves of Crusades to the Holy Land, and the awesome power of Turkish sultans. And perhaps most critically, Madden corrects the stereotype of Shakespeare’s money-lending Shylock that has distorted the Venetian character, uncovering instead a much more complex and fascinating story, peopled by men and women whose ingenuity and deep faith profoundly altered the course of civilization.

©2012 Thomas F. Madden (P)2012 Recorded Books

Terrific read

Riveting history. Very easy to absorb and great pace of narrative. Just enough detail to provide insight without overwhelming the listener. A great achievement to cover everything from the founding of the city to the great flood of 1966. I knew little of the events leading up to the end of the republic and the eventual incorporation into Italy in the 1860s. But the tales of naval battles, Byzantine intrigue and the pilfering of St Mark’s remains are spellbindingly well told. It touches on art, architecture and music, as well as crusades and commerce. All in all, excellent.

The Doge is dead, Long Live Venice

Wow, 17 hours and I could not stop listening! Edoardo's narration is one of the best audible adaptations ever. Professor Madden's approach to this history; equal parts education and entertainment is truly enlightening. He brings these 1000 year old characters and their motivations to life. People who love history will love this excellent read.

informative and engaging

Fun story on the history of Venice, from the fall off Rome to the present.

Who knew?

Venice is waaaaay more interesting than I thought it was. Makes me want to go even more than I wanted to before!

The Other Descendant of Rome

What an interesting history by Thomas Madden of that magnificent city of Venice, the city of canals in a lagoon. It’s a place where you get around by gondolas instead of vehicles, but it’s more than that. Venice has always been the odd man out. It’s not like any other European city. It is neither western nor eastern. It is Italian and yet not completely so. It’s a mishmash of architecture, art, and culture, but it also has a history like no other because, as Madden notes, Venice isn’t a part of European culture. It is also descended from Rome, but with a completely different upbringing. 

As the Roman Empire weakened, its capital was moved to the east and Constantinople was built (what is now Istanbul). Rome was still the Western capital but no longer the center of power and under repeated attack by various northern and eastern tribes. When the Huns came, a group of Romans from the fertile plains of the area where the Italian “boot” merges with the mainland and begins to curve around to the Macedonian peninsula escaped and took refuge on some marshy islands in a lagoon. The area is near with the great river Po empties into the Adriatic, but also many other rivers bringing silt down from the Alps. They had found a land that, while not greatly hospitable to agriculture, provided security from land attack, plenty of food from the water, and well-protected harbors. 

When the Huns left, the instability on the mainland continued and their settlement grew and thrived, eventually becoming a maritime power. Though Rome had become an empire ruled by an emperor, the principles of republicanism were still strong and these first “Venetians,” though it would be a long time before they would be called that, starting from their small group of refugees and growing over the years, governed themselves as a republic. Since there was little land for agriculture, they had to become traders, at first just for food, but eventually as their economic livelihood. And, what really made them different from the rest of Europe was that, with their lack of tillable land, feudalism never developed there. 

In fact, Venice became the world’s longest-lived republic. Their democracy went through times when it weakened, but it never fell until they were finally conquered by Napoleon. Venice as an independent republic lasted over 1000 years. Their elections were elaborate so that no one person could dominate or form a cabal to take control. The Doge (highest ruler) was elected to a single term only and his sons could not immediately follow after him. John Adams, one of the United States’ founding fathers, carefully studied the institutions of Venice to consider how to apply its principles of checks and balances to our government. Madden calls the process of nominating a doge, a process “meant to be so cumbersome that only God could influence it.” 

And, they always considered themselves Romans, which meant the Eastern Capital, by then having changed its name to Byzantium, to them, which also explains why Venice is such a hodgepodge of east and west and neither. And, they became a world powerhouse, controlling much of the Mediterranean and becoming a support for Byzantium, prolonging the life of the Eastern Empire by at least a century as the Ottomans encroached. They became great shipbuilders. Venetians were earliest real capitalists, in a world where everything was controlled by the government. They invented a complex system of finance, banking, and accounting, including double-entry bookkeeping. Modern banking and finance are products of Venice. 

Venice was the main supporter of the Crusades. It did earn a lot of wealth from the Crusades but it also supported them when other kingdoms backed out of their commitments. And the Crusades helped them expand their trade even further. Before there were ocean routes to the east, silk, spices, and many other luxury goods came through traders overland or by ship to the Middle East and originally Venetians,  Pisans, and Genoans were the traders who brought them the rest of the way, though eventually, it became only Venice. When the Mongols took over China and made travel all along the Silk Road much safer, Venice was ready to take advantage of it, sending a group of traders, including Marco Polo on a multi-year exploratory trip there. Through it all, Venice became very, very wealthy and powerful, as well as a center of art and culture. And, just as the lagoon protected it from the Huns, it also protected it from the constant conflicts in Europe at least until Napoleon.

But while Venice was always a bit separate from Europe and a bit out of step, it was a bridge to the east and it was the model for what the West would eventually become. Its power finally began to be reduced when the age of exploration began with Columbus, Drake, and others who opened new trade routes to the East and the New World, undercutting Venice. When Napoleon began to push through Europe, Venice was already becoming a shell of its former glory, but with Napoleon’s bombardment, they surrendered and he dismantled their republican system of government, placing it under military rule and then, as he pulled back, turning it over to the ultra-conservative Hapsburg Empire. Venice became the museum city, the original tourist destination that it is today. 

Madden writes a chronological history that is full of detail and builds the story as it goes so that you can see how it developed. There are times when he sounds a bit too defensive when dealing with some of the criticisms against Venice raised by historians in the past, particularly those who say that, while it had no nobility, with wealth came privilege and that it had developed into more of an oligarchy in later centuries. Its support for the Crusades is glossed over as well as a few other things. Still, it helps to show the true importance of Venice and is worth reading.

Excellent history book. Excellent audible narration

I really loved this book. Total immersion in Venetian history over the past week or so while “ reading” it has deepened my long felt love of the values and example and experience of the Venetian republican city state and empire immensely. Those who know me well know that I don’t like “nation states” much at all and prefer city states and regions. In my humble opinion, the city state of Venice at its height was one of the best examples of responsible, successful Western style republican governance in modern times and has much to teach the broken, deeply flawed popular Western republican democracies of today especially in the USA and Italy, as well as the constitutional monarchies of Spain and the United Kingdom. Highly recommended reading.

Great history - very interesting

After listening to many of these audible books, this is one of the very best: well researched, entertaining, fascinating, and superbly written. Bravo.

Excellent history, well narrated

I learned so much from this history of Venice. I couldn't put it down. It covers the subject with breadth and clarity, and makes one want to visit this city with such an important past.

the narrator was great

The narrator was great, perfect for this epic story. His Italian added immensely to the impact.

This is the way history is meant to be written

I love Venice and it's history but even if I wasn't an admirer of the city this book would probably make me one. I love the narrative, at points, it keeps you at the edge of your seat as if it were a fiction novel. The narrator is also very engaging and has an appealing voice. The author did a great job of telling the facts of history but not without sharing the popular and legendary history of the city. I bought a few other history books and this is without a doubt my favorite one yet.