History of Venice Podcast

028. Never get involved in a land war in Asia Minor

With the 11th century nearly at an end, Venice’s economy is motoring thanks to her hugely favourable trade deal with Constantinople and the relentless hard work of thousands of ordinary Venetians. But the international situation is volatile for the lagoon dwellers, with their main ally looking increasingly precarious. In the 1090s, Emperor Alexios’s call for western help against the Turks unleashes a new force that will rearrange the international chessboard dramatically, shaking up some of Venice’s most important markets. The Crusades have arrived.
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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

027. Food Glorious Food

You can see the legacy of Venice's mighty commercial prowess everywhere around the city. This week we look at how those international trading influences helped to shape a couple of her most characteristic foods: the fritole that have become a classic Carnevale sweet treat; and the iconic creamed cod of baccala mantecato -- a dish that is so important that it recently gained its own Ducal Confraternity to protect and promote it.
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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
 

Art & Culture 04: Venetian Historical Fiction with Christian Cameron

This week we talk to historical fiction author Christian Cameron, whose recent novel "The Venetian Heretic" takes place in Venice in 1651. We discuss some of Christian's favourite Venetian characters and stories, and look at how he researched some of the scenes in the novel.
You can find out more about Christian's novel here: https://christiancameronauthor.com/book/the-venetian-heretic/
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Music used in this episode is from Vivaldi's Gloria, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
 

026. Trading Places

In 1082, Venice won valuable trading concessions from Emperor Alexios in Constantinople. We live in a world where leaders often talk up the importance of trade deals without it ever being clear what the tangible benefits are. But this Golden Bull was genuinely significant. This week we look at what it meant not just for the rich and powerful in Venice, but for the whole community.
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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

Casanova Part 5. Roman Holiday

A woman meets a charming but mercurial young stranger on a coach trip from Naples to Rome. With the apparent connivance of her husband, their relationship blossoms into a delightful, but fleeting, Roman Holiday before she returns to her daily life back in Naples. As the years go by, their recurring meetings will mark out the passing decades of Casanova’s life. But is any of it true? Or is he just fantasising and setting out to shock us? This week we investigate the story of Lucrezia.
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Intro and outro music is “Estate” (Summer) from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

025. Norman Wisdom

The maelstrom of Mediterranean chaos that we described last week comes crashing into Venice, with the Investiture Controversy raging on her doorstep and the terrifying Robert Guiscard threatening to destroy the city’s oldest and most stable ally, the Eastern Roman Empire. The city will need wisdom, skill, and some well timed good fortune, but in the end Venice will emerge from this moment of peril stronger than ever, laying the foundations for a future golden age of commerce and prosperity.
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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

024. Noisy Neighbours

Venice’s neighbours on all sides were in various stages of turmoil by the early 1070s. To understand the impact of all this on our little independent maritime Republic, we need to pull the camera back a little and examine this sea of troubles that all of her neighbours seemed resolutely determined to stir up or swim in. The century is boiling up towards a dramatic climax and Venice needs to be ready for anything. This week, we map out the nexus of forces that are shifting the tectonic plates of Mediterranean power.
Email us at histvenicepod@gmail.com, or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.
Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
For a deeper dive into the various strands of international politics that we examine this week, we recommend listening to some other independent history podcasts which have covered this era from different perspectives:
History of Byzantium: https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
A History of Italy: https://ahistoryofitaly.com/
History of the Germans: https://historyofthegermans.com/
British History Podcast: https://www.thebritishhistorypodcast.com/

023. Long Live The Doxe

In the spring of 1071, Venice celebrated the appointment of a new Doxe*. And for the first time we have a surviving eye witness account of the event. Today we look at how that election of 1071 went down, and what Domenico Tino’s account tells us about the society that his namesake, new Doxe Domenico Selvo, was now in charge of.
*For the time being we’ve adopted an old Venetian spelling, since the more standard “Doge” currently has other unfortunate connotations.
Email us at histvenicepod@gmail.com, or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.
Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org