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A brief history of Venice

From Roman refugees to the richest republic in Europe: how a city on mud became La Serenissima.

Last updated August 6, 2026

In a nutshell: Venice began as a refuge - Roman refugees on the mud of the lagoon - and became a trading empire that made it the richest city in Europe. For a thousand years the Republic of St. Mark dominated the eastern Mediterranean, pioneered banking, opera and the assembly line, then faded into a long, glittering sunset. The whole story is told in five chapters: the founding, the seafaring empire, the Renaissance and the decline, fifteen places that tell the story and Venice today - from the MOSE flood barriers to the Venetians themselves.

Jacopo de' Barbari's 1500 view of Venice - one of the first accurate portraits of a city ever printed
The gilded Bucentaur heads for the Lido on Ascension Day - the annual Marriage of the Sea
Giovanni Bellini's Doge Leonardo Loredan (r. 1501–21) - Renaissance Venice in a single face
Explore the story
The foundingRead →How a city rose from the mud: Roman refugees on the lagoon, the first doges, salt and fish - and the stolen relics of St. Mark that gave Venice its patron saint.The seafaring empireRead →The Arsenale's assembly line, the Crusades, the Marriage of the Sea - how a city of merchants became the richest republic in Europe.Renaissance and declineRead →Lepanto, the new Atlantic routes, plague and opera - and the long, elegant party that ended with Napoleon in 1797.Fifteen places that tell the storyRead →Torcello to the Biennale gardens: fifteen landmarks that make a thousand years concrete, plus the cast of characters from Dandolo to Peggy Guggenheim.Venice todayRead →Is Venice sinking? The MOSE flood barriers, the 1966 flood, and the Venetians who still call the city home.
Continue exploring
How the lagoon was bornRead →The palaces of VeniceRead →San Marco, the heart of the RepublicRead →

History is everywhere in Venice - let AmorViaggio craft an itinerary that pairs the Doge's Palace and the Correr with a lagoon boat trip to the places where the Republic began.