The City: A Global History (Modern Library Chronicles Series Book 21) by Joel Kotkin
Authors: Joel Kotkin
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of civic nationalism. They drew on sources such as Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect from the time of Augustus, whose work was rediscovered early in the fifteenth century. Renaissance city builders enthusiastically devoured Pollio’s notions of the radial concentric city, with a defined core or forum and residential areas extending outward toward the city walls. 11
Not content merely to copy old traditions, Renaissance urban visionaries such as Leon Battista Alberti, Antonio Averlino, and Leonardo da Vinci advanced the old Roman art of urban infrastructure, developing new techniques for the construction of defensive fortifications and canals. Filled with pride in their accomplishments, the Italian urban centers— like their classical counterparts—vied with one another in fashioning the most arresting urban landscapes.
VENICE: “JEWEL BOX OF THE WORLD”
In this competition among cities, none exceeded Venice. With its magnificent Grand Canal, Loggia, and Rialto, the city became, as the historian Jacob Burckhardt put it, “the jewel box of the world.” 12
Equally important, Venice also presaged the ultimate shape of the modern city, the greatness of which stems primarily from its economic power. Venice paid for its opulence not through imperial conquest or by its position as a sacred center. Instead, its wealth—like that of Phoenicia— derived almost entirely from its commercial prowess.
The city’s origins certainly were plebeian. No dominant religious or imperial figure forged the way to Venice’s ascent to greatness. Its own founding myth had little of saints or heroes; the first Venetians were said to be Roman refugees who hid amid the area’s marshy islands during a barbarian assault in 421.
From this small band of exiles, the Venetians developed their own urban culture, with each island parish serving as a neighborhood. Their fronts facing the sea, their backs to the mouth of the Po River, the Venetians developed skills as expert fishermen, traders, and seafarers.
Venice’s outward thrust initially relied on close ties with Byzantium. Links to the great city gave Venice unique access to the riches of the Levant at a time when most Europeans were largely isolated. Eventually, the Venetians chafed at imperial restrictions on their activities, which were interfering with their profits. Determined to go their own way, they established their own independent republic around 1000.
Essentially an elected oligopoly, the republic was run largely as a business concern, quick to take advantage of trade anywhere profits could be made. 13 The Venetians developed a reputation for being self-serving in both business and politics. They traded with the Muslims when most of Christendom engaged them in bitter armed combat. In 1204, they took full advantage of the seizure of Byzantium by the Crusaders to further consolidate their hold on the eastern Mediterranean. 14 Venetian ships eventually controlled Europe’s trade not only with the Arabs, but, frequently through Islamic and Jewish middlemen, also with India, South Asia, and China.
Not content to be merely middlemen or financiers, the Venetians also developed an elaborate production base, further enhancing the city’s economy. Long before the notion of specialized “industrial districts” became widespread elsewhere in the West, the Venetians broke up their neighborhoods along distinct functional lines, with specific residential and industrial communities for shipbuilding, munitions, and glassmaking. By the fourteenth century, more than sixteen thousand people worked in these varied industries, making Venice not only the West’s trader and banker, but its workshop as well. 15
By the early sixteenth century, this combination of commerce and industry had transformed Venice into by far the wealthiest city in Europe. 16 More remarkable still was the city’s distinctly cosmopolitan character. At a time when most of Europe was darkened by
Not content merely to copy old traditions, Renaissance urban visionaries such as Leon Battista Alberti, Antonio Averlino, and Leonardo da Vinci advanced the old Roman art of urban infrastructure, developing new techniques for the construction of defensive fortifications and canals. Filled with pride in their accomplishments, the Italian urban centers— like their classical counterparts—vied with one another in fashioning the most arresting urban landscapes.
VENICE: “JEWEL BOX OF THE WORLD”
In this competition among cities, none exceeded Venice. With its magnificent Grand Canal, Loggia, and Rialto, the city became, as the historian Jacob Burckhardt put it, “the jewel box of the world.” 12
Equally important, Venice also presaged the ultimate shape of the modern city, the greatness of which stems primarily from its economic power. Venice paid for its opulence not through imperial conquest or by its position as a sacred center. Instead, its wealth—like that of Phoenicia— derived almost entirely from its commercial prowess.
The city’s origins certainly were plebeian. No dominant religious or imperial figure forged the way to Venice’s ascent to greatness. Its own founding myth had little of saints or heroes; the first Venetians were said to be Roman refugees who hid amid the area’s marshy islands during a barbarian assault in 421.
From this small band of exiles, the Venetians developed their own urban culture, with each island parish serving as a neighborhood. Their fronts facing the sea, their backs to the mouth of the Po River, the Venetians developed skills as expert fishermen, traders, and seafarers.
Venice’s outward thrust initially relied on close ties with Byzantium. Links to the great city gave Venice unique access to the riches of the Levant at a time when most Europeans were largely isolated. Eventually, the Venetians chafed at imperial restrictions on their activities, which were interfering with their profits. Determined to go their own way, they established their own independent republic around 1000.
Essentially an elected oligopoly, the republic was run largely as a business concern, quick to take advantage of trade anywhere profits could be made. 13 The Venetians developed a reputation for being self-serving in both business and politics. They traded with the Muslims when most of Christendom engaged them in bitter armed combat. In 1204, they took full advantage of the seizure of Byzantium by the Crusaders to further consolidate their hold on the eastern Mediterranean. 14 Venetian ships eventually controlled Europe’s trade not only with the Arabs, but, frequently through Islamic and Jewish middlemen, also with India, South Asia, and China.
Not content to be merely middlemen or financiers, the Venetians also developed an elaborate production base, further enhancing the city’s economy. Long before the notion of specialized “industrial districts” became widespread elsewhere in the West, the Venetians broke up their neighborhoods along distinct functional lines, with specific residential and industrial communities for shipbuilding, munitions, and glassmaking. By the fourteenth century, more than sixteen thousand people worked in these varied industries, making Venice not only the West’s trader and banker, but its workshop as well. 15
By the early sixteenth century, this combination of commerce and industry had transformed Venice into by far the wealthiest city in Europe. 16 More remarkable still was the city’s distinctly cosmopolitan character. At a time when most of Europe was darkened by
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