VENICE, Italy — When Gasparo Contarini surveyed the political chaos of Italy’s city-states in the 1500s, he grew somber: “It is evident that almost every city in Italy, whether it is governed by a ...

For some time I have been reading about Venice. Initially I studied what most immediately concerns me, books about the old master visual art. But then I turned my concerns to the fascinating political ...

As it’s known, the Most Serene Republic of Venice, that mighty maritime state born in the 8th century (independent since the 9th) and lasting until the late 18th century, was governed by a series of ...