Details

ONLINE ART HISTORY COURSE
“Venice: The Critical Centuries”

Course Description:

In 2021 Venice celebrated its 1600th birthday. According to legend, the city was founded in 421when refugees from the mainland fled to the lagoon to escape the marauding hordes of Attila the Hun. The anniversary reminds us of Venice’s long and complex history that has seen such events as the creation of Venice’s vast Mediterranean trade network, the foundation and eventual fall of the Venetian Republic, and Venice’s later incorporation into the Austrian empire and then the modern Italian state. Yet three centuries stand out as particularly significant. In the ninth, the Venetians relocated their capital to Rialto and forged their identity. In the thirteenth, they created their republic and established their overseas empire. In the nineteenth, the Venetians grappled with such problems as their loss of independence and how to manage the often-conflicting demands of heavy industry, historic preservation, and tourism. This course will take a deep dive into each of these fascinating and formative periods in the history of the Serenissima.

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with videos of recordings, syllabus, and reading list.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings:
Information will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

Complete syllabus will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THE COURSE HAS ENDED.

Schedule

LECTURE 1 – Founding a City and Forging an Identity: The Ninth Century

– Monday, September 23

At the beginning of the ninth century, the scattered communities in the Venetian lagoon faced an existential crisis.  Pepin, son of Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne, launched an invasion but was rebuffed. Had he succeeded, Venice would likely have been incorporated into the empire and descended into obscurity.  In the aftermath of the invasion, the sitting doge decided to move the capital of the lagoon settlements to Rialto (what we today think of as Venice).  Just a few years later, the body of Saint Mark, which had been stolen from Alexandria by Venetian merchants, was presented to the doge and deposited first in the Ducal Palace and later in a church dedicated to Mark, who became the city’s patron saint.  Mark’s arrival was interpreted as the fulfillment of Venice’s predestination to greatness.

LECTURE 2 – Creating and Empire and Founding a Republic:  The Thirteenth Century

– Monday, September 30

Two of the most important events in Venice’s history bookend the thirteenth century.  In 1204, as part of the Fourth Crusade, the Venetians conquered (and sacked) the great city of Constantinople, their former overlord.  In the division of the spoils, the Venetians laid the framework for what became their vast maritime empire – the network of colonies and trading posts which made them fabulously wealthy.  In 1297 and after much wrangling, the Venetians worked out their governmental structure – it would be an aristocratic republic presided over by around 150 noble families and with a ceremonial head of state, the doge.  This republic would last exactly 500 years until 1797 when Napoleon conquered the city.

LECTURE 3 – At a Crossroads:  The Nineteenth Century

– Monday, October 7

Postdating the Venetian Republic, the nineteenth century is often neglected in accounts of the city’s history.  Yet it was one of the most consequential.  The building of the railway bridge to the mainland ended Venice’s aquatic isolation. The Venetians also had to contend with their new status as a provincial capital.  In addition, they had to decide what role the city would play in the world:  would it industrialize or look to tourism?  One result was radical transformations of the city’s infrastructure including the infilling of canals, widening of streets, and building of new bridges across the Grand Canal.  These changes prompted a vigorous and often contentious debate about modernization versus preservation that continues to this day.

Instructor

Dennis Romano is the Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History emeritus at Syracuse University.  A specialist in medieval and Renaissance history, he has written numerous books and articles including “The Likeness of Venice:  A Life of Doge Francesco Foscari, 1373-1457” (Yale University Press, 2007) and, most recently, “Venice:  The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City” (Oxford University Press, 2024).  A former Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellow, he has also held fellowships at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the National Humanities Center, and the Folger Shakespeare Library.  He is an honorary fellow of Ateneo Veneto (the Venetian Athenaeum).  He lives in Washington, DC.