Venice Notes

This is a set of notes from John Julius Norwich's A History of Venice which I've just started reading. This will be used to note history and thoughts on Venice as I read along and the historical role it played for posterity.

I think the critical importance of Venice is that it acts as the 'counterweight' of Medieval Europe culture. By this I mean: it lies fundamentally in the center - between the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, between the Islamic world and Europe itself. It is a fundamentally Eastern - an orientally-oriented state - in the midst of the West. It's a republic in a land of kings (both Medieval Europe as a whole and Lombardy especially). It's intrigues are built around this. It's just fascinating to dive more into it.

I didn't realize Marco Polo was Venetian. That's a very interesting part of this whole narrative!