Venice
Venice was founded in or around the 8th century by a group of fishermen fleeing the Barbarian invasions. Within a few hundred years, it had become a rich, powerful state with a dominion extending across most of northern Italy and along the coastal areas of the former Yugoslavia, Dalmatia and Greece.
Venice was at its peak between the 12th and the 15th centuries, when it was the main hub for all the most important trade routes. At that time, Venice was one of the most heavily populated cities in Europe and was very much a crucible of different cultures and peoples.
From the outset, Venice provided an example of a complex yet highly effective political system: on conquering a new territory, la Serenissima would implement an administrative system that, while centralised, would also take account of the local features of each region.
In the 16th century, as the eastern dominions surrendered to the Turks (albeit not without a fight), the discovery of America caused the trade routes that had been so valuable to the Venetians to be switched from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. This signalled the beginning of a slow, glorious decline.
For more information about the history of Venice
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