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The Rise & Fall of Venice

The story of an impossible city that became a medieval superpower.

Venice was the impossible city that rose from mudflats to become a medieval superpower. It dominated Mediterranean trade through its vast navy, revolutionary shipyards, and strategic position between East and West. From the glass furnaces of Murano to the spice-laden ships crowding its ports, Dan is joined by historian and author Roger Crowley to explore how Venice became the commercial powerhouse of medieval Europe, and why this extraordinary city-state was pushed into decline by the Ottomans, before finally falling to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.

Roger's book is called 'City of Fortune'.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3Media.

Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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44 minutes