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6th Century BC the Veneto
occupied by the Euganei and the Veneti (the latter people ultimately
gave their name to the region)
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3rd Century BC Romans conquer
the Veneto
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89 BC inhabitants of the Veneto
given full Roman citizenship
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421 Legendary founding of
Venice, by Romans fleeing the Goths
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621 Work starts on cathedral on
Torcello (island in the Venetian lagoon, once a rival to Venice)
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828 Venetian merchants steal the
bones of St. Mark from Alexandria
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832 First Basilica San Marco
consecrated
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1095 First Crusade; Venice
prospers selling ships and supplies
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1171 The six districts (sestieri)
of Venice established
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1204 By diverting the Fourth
Crusade, Venice conquers Byzantium (and its capital, Constantinople).
Booty includes the famous four bronze horses of San Marco plus about
one million pounds sterling in treasure, seven times the revenue of
the kingdom of England at the time. Venice is now the undisputed ruler
of the eastern Mediterranean.
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1310 Council of Ten formed with
a constitutional government
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1325 Names of the city's ruling
families are inscribed in the Golden Book
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1348-9 Plague kills half the
city.
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1380 Venice defeats Genoa in
naval battle
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1498 Vasca da Gama rounds Cape
Horn to India, ending Venice's monopoly on trade with the East.
Beginning of Venice's decline.
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1516 Council of Ten locks Jews
in the Ghetto
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1630 Plague cuts population to
100,000
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1718 End of maritime empire;
Venice surrenders Morea to the Turks
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1797 Napoleon conquers the
Veneto, ending 11 centuries of independence. Napoleon lets the Jews
out of the Ghetto.
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1798 Napoleon trades the Veneto
to the Austrians for Lombardy; the Austrians stuff the Jews back into
the Ghetto
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1846 Rail causeway links city to
mainland.
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1866 Austrians defeated, Venice
becomes part of Italy. Jews let out of Ghetto.
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1912 Thomas Mann writes
Death in Venice
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1915-18 Venice somewhat damaged
in fighting between Austria and Italy
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1926 Porto Marghera, an
industrial park with aluminum smelting, oil refining, and other
factories, annexed to the City of Venice. The lagoon is beginning to
be lost to landfill.
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World War II The historic center
of Venice is mostly left alone by the Germans and Allies.
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1960 Marco Polo airport built on
landfill in the lagoon, part of an entire 25% of the lagoon that had
been filled in for industrial purposes. Combined with dredging of
channels for big ships, Venice's buffer against tides is weakened.
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1966 Worst flood in history of
city. Streets and houses are submerged to a depth of more than six
feet.
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1995 Venice's population falls
to 70,000 with an average age of about 50. Two-thirds of the
population of "Greater Venice" now lives in dryer houses on the
mainland.
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1999 Venice's population falls
to 60,000. Venice is to expensive for the venetian population. The
young peoples go away there isn't job and to rent a hose in Venice is
impossible for them (too expensive). Many shops close and open only
tourist shops (glass, restaurant). Year after year Venice is become a
wonderful "Disneyland" only for tourist.
