The Republic of Venice and Republic of Genoa: The History of the Italian Rivals and their Mediterranean Empires
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Colin Fluxman
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The mystical floating city of Venice has inspired awe for generations, and it continues to be one of the most visited European cities for good reason. Tourists are drawn to the stunning blend of classical, Gothic, and Renaissance-inspired architecture across the picturesque towns and villages, the charming open-air markets, the mouthwatering traditional cuisine, and of course, the famous gondolas drifting down the twinkling blue waters. While these gondolas, along with the time-honored models of the Venetian vessels docked in the harbors, are one of the city's most defining landmarks, their beginnings are shrouded in a more obscure part of Venetian history.
To the first settlers of the unpromising, marshy islands of Venice in the 5th century BCE, it appeared as if any attempt at civilization was doomed to fail. Yet, even with the cards stacked against them, the artful inhabitants mastered the unlivable terrain and slowly pieced together a society that would put the small, unassuming city right on the map. In time, the city evolved into the most powerful maritime empire in all of Europe.
Founded in the wake of the decline of the Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice lasted for more than a thousand years, from 697-1797, and in order to understand its singular position in world history, it is necessary to first note its geographical positioning and its topographical make-up: Located in northeastern Italy at the head of the Adriatic, the city is made up of 120 islands that are connected by 430 bridges that cross over 170 canals, referred to as a “rio” or plural “rii” (Italian for river). As a maritime power, the interests of Venice once reached all the way to Asia, which allowed it to form an important crossroads within the Eastern Mediterranean, in terms of trade. In Venice, a vast array of products (raw materials, spices, cloth) came all the way from North Africa, Russia, and India and were exchanged for the goods and wealth of Europe.”
In a country that is as crowded with famous cities as Italy, Genoa is usually not one that first leaps to mind, at least for an English-speaking audience. If Venice, Florence, and Rome are the top three, they are often followed by Pisa, Sienna, and Naples, not to mention the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Indeed, Genoa would come towards the end of a much longer list, and it might be most closely associated with its famous native son, Christopher Columbus, who ultimately sailed for Spain. For avid tourists, Genoa might be the port of call for those wishing to visit the stunning Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast nearby, and for an expert in world politics, the city of Genoa might recall the memories of the tragic events of the 27th G8 summit in July 2001, when, at the height of the anti-globalization movement, protests turned violent and resulted in the death of a 23-year-old Carlo Giuliani. In today’s news, Genoa might represent Italy’s crumbling infrastructure and the apparent powerlessness of its government to repair it - on Tuesday, August 14, 2018, one of the main bridges of the city, the Morandi Bridge, collapsed, killing 43 people and leaving 600 homeless. The bridge’s demise also destroyed Italy’s reputation as an expert in mechanical engineering.
Although Genoa cannot compete in the popular imagination with some of Italy’s more famous cities, this busy port town perched above the sea once boasted a powerful empire that rivaled that of Venice. It also lasted for roughly the same time period, rising in the early Middle Ages and coming to an end at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte near the end of the 18th century.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Culper Ring: The History and Legacy of the Revolutionary War's Most Famous Spy Ring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Republic of Venice and Republic of Genoa
Related audiobooks
The Republic of Venice: The History of the Venetian Empire and Its Influence across the Mediterranean Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Naples: The History and Legacy of the Prominent Italian City-State from Antiquity to Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of Venice: Queen of the Seas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval Maritime Warfare Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Venetians: A New History: From Marco Polo to Casanova Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Venice: A New History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Isles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Order of Santiago : The History of the Catholic Military Order Sworn to Defend the Iberian Peninsula Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grandeur That Was Rome: Roman Art and Archaeology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure of Man: Liberty, Virtue, and Beauty in the Florentine Renaissance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCity of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Venetian Empire: The Grand History of the Venetians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sicilian Splendors: Discovering the Secret Places That Speak to the Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Etruscans and the First Romans: The History and Legacy of the Civilizations that Fought for Control of Italy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItaly’s Most Powerful Mafias: The History and Legacy of the Cosa Nostra, La Camorra, and ‘Ndrangheta Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Farewell the Trumpets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History of Greece: An Enthralling Overview of Greek History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ancient Athenian Navy: The History and Legacy of Greece’s Dominant Naval Force in Antiquity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Venice: Pure City Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Seapower States: Maritime Culture, Continental Empires, and the Conflict That Made the Modern World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Invention of Sicily: A Mediterranean History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unification of Italy: The History of the Risorgimento and the Conflicts that Unified the Italian Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Concise History of Italy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cola di Rienzo: The Controversial Life and Legacy of the Medieval Roman Who Attempted to Unify Italy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
European History For You
Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Hideous Progeny: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History that Inspired Game of Thrones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Teutonic Knights: A Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The War on the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: with Pearl and Sir Orfeo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of American Cemeteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghost Map Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Napoleon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Republic of Venice and Republic of Genoa
2 ratings0 reviews