When did Venice become a city?

Question

sorry i meant the one in italy

Answer 1

According to legend, Venice was founded in 422 by Roman refugees fleeing from the Goths. However, no historical records exist about the origins of Venice. The city was probably founded as a result of the influx of refugees into the marshes of the Po estuary following the invasion which ravaged northern-eastern Italy starting from that of Quadi and Marcomanni in 166-168 AD, who destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, by the Huns led by Attila. The last and most enduring was that of the Lombards in 568: this left the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, and the main administrative and religious entities were therefore transferred in this remaining dominion. New ports were built, including those of Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The Byzantine domination in central and northern Italy was largely wiped out by the conquest of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751 by Aistulf. In this period the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke", later "doge") was located in Malamocco: the settlement in the islands of the lagoon increased probably in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of the Byzantine territories. In 775-776 the bishopric seat of Olivolo (Helibolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811-827) the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the best protected Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore") island, the current location of Venice. Here were subsequently built the monastery of St. Zachary, and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defence (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto. In 828 the prestige of the new city was increased by the stealing of the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, an increasingly anti-Eastern character emerged, leading to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.

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Expansion

Venetian fort in Nafplion, Greece. This is one of the many forts that secured the Venetian trade routesFrom the ninth to the twelfth century Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. The city became a flourishing center of the trade between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world).

In the 12th century the essentials for the power of Venice were laid: the Venetian Arsenal was under construction in 1104; Venice wrested control of the Brenner pass from Verona in 1178, opening a lifeline to silver from Germany; the last autocratic doge, Vitale Michiele, died in 1172.

The Republic of Venice seized the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the Republic acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Cyprus and Crete, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia, and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders.


Venice in summer, with the Rialto Bridge in the background
View of Venice to San Giorgio Maggiore island from St Mark's Campanile.
Palazzo Contarini del BovoloVenice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which (with Venetian aid) seized Constantinople in 1204 and established the Latin Empire; Venice herself carved out a sphere of influence known as the Duchy of the Archipelago. Unfortunately, this seizure of Constantinople would ultimately prove to be as much a factor ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Though the Greeks recovered control of the ravaged city and Empire a half century later, the Byzantine Empire was effectively powerless, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453. Considerable plunder was brought back to Venice, including the Winged Lion of St. Mark, symbol of Venice. Only Venetian ships could efficiently transport the men, supplies, and (especially) war horses.

Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice traded with the Byzantine Empire and the Moslem world extensively. During the late thirteenth century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the most influential families in Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. The Senate then chose the Council of Ten, a secretive group which held the utmost power in the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected 'doge,' or duke, the ceremonial head of the city.

The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected executive power (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power - which eventually disappeared entirely, but which originally consisted of the power of citizens to grant or withhold their approval for each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, though there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government’s consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period and politics and the military were kept completely separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally led the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).

The chief executive was the Doge (duke), who, theoretically, held his elective office for life. In practice, a number of Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by perceived political failure.

Though the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and it enacted not a single execution for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to its frequently coming into conflict with the Papacy. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, more famous, occasion was on April 27, 1509, by order of Pope Julius II (see League of Cambrai).

Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians.

Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade after the end of the Renaissance. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products and, until the mid eighteenth-century, was a manufacturing center.

Answer 2

Venice Italy has existed since the 8th century. If you have to put a date to it, 740 is about right. It was an independent city state into the 18th Century.

Answer 3

which one better specify i live in a Venice here in the US and their is one in Italy???