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Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy. The remarkable of this city is that it consists from 126 islands. Venice is a city full of history and full of hidden gems.

Venice developed a creation myth that it was founded by people fleeing Troy but this is just a legend. Venezia was founded in 421. The Veneti, who had been expelled by the Ostrogoths and the Lombards, took refuge in these marshlands in the mouth of the River Po, forming the city of Venice. In 751, when the Lombards conquered Ravenna, the Byzantine dux became a Venetian Doge, appointed by the merchant families who had emerged in the town.

Over the next few centuries, Venice developed as a trading center, happy to do business with both the Islamic world as well as the Byzantine Empire, with whom they remained close. Indeed, in 992, Venice earned special trading rights with the empire in return for accepting Byzantine sovereignty again. The city grew richer, and independence was gained in 1082. However, they retained trading advantages with Byzantium by offering the use of their, now considerable, navy. The government also developed, the once dictatorial Doge supplemented by officials, then councils, and in 1144, Venice was first called a commune.

In 1284, Venice introduced gold ducats (coins) that were used as a trade coin in Europe for the next three centuries, along with Florence’s Florin.

During the fifteenth century, Venice was at the centre of the world’s commerce and had the largest port in the world with over 200.000 inhabitants. The wealthiest families had beautiful palazzos built by artists like Veronese and Giorgione. Venice had reached its maximum peak during this period.

One of the most important date for Venice was the 1866 in which Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

Today, the biggest economy in Venice is based on tourism. The city is also an important cultural hub thanks to La Biennale, the Film Festival and one of the most prominent universities in Italy, Ca’ Foscari. Nevertheless, the Serenissima suffers from a high percentage of its population leaving the city due to the negative impact of a mass tourism and the high prices of the city.