Venice History of the floating city

This seasoned historian of Venice condenses 1,500 years of the city's history, concentrating on the republic from circa 1200 to 1630. Her narrative foregrounds the last four decades of scholarship on Venetian economic and social history, creating an interdisciplinary overview of major historical and historiographical trends and conclusions. Ferraro (San Diego State Univ.) focuses on social and civic "identities," material culture and multiculturalism, social hierarchy, and social gender construction. Notes are minimal (five pages); chapter "Further Reading" lists contain her main modern sources. The result is uneven, shifting from broad strokes to minutiae, from lists of people or monuments to recipes and legal details. Ferraro assumes readers' knowledge of historical contexts and events, which speeds the narrative but lessens its introductory value. She also assumes knowledge of Venice's urban geography, providing a single map of the modern city. Forty-five images and a glossary help the novice, however, and the well-crafted narrative moves readers along quickly. The book is most useful to those already familiar with the city and its history who seek to understand the approach of modern scholarship. Summing Up: Recommended. General and university collections. J. P. Byrne Belmont University

From its beginnings in the sixth century when fisherman built raised huts above the mud flats, Venice was linked to the powerful Byzantine Empire both politically and culturally. With the Crusades came Venice's tourist industry as foreigners flocked to the city, which increased cultural diversity and allowed Venice to become a major maritime power in the Mediterranean. During the Renaissance, upper-class men were bachelors while women were married off by wealthy widows empowered by their dowries, whose values had greatly inflated in the 16th century. Since the 14th century, Jews had been a crucial part of the Venetian economy while working as pawnbrokers and textile and used goods vendors. In the beginning of the 15th century Venice was both a sea power and an international marketplace, and it quickly became a cultural hub as visitors took notice of its impressive architecture, theater, music, and art by the likes of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. Venice's star began to fade, though, and by the 17th century it was no longer an important maritime power or commercial force. Ordinary people, affected significantly by Venice's decreasing power, were forced to live on only the essentials, while wealthy Venetians continued to consume goods and materials at an impressive rate. Venice's decline coincided with the rise of opera, journalism, and tourism, which thrived in the two decades before the Republic fell to Napoleon in 1797. Although the book is marred by awkward writing and the author's attempt to sweep too many centuries into one small space, San Diego State history chair Ferraro (Marriage in Late Renaissance Venice) offers a rich and alluring account of "the floating city." Illus., maps. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.