Editing Venice (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Republic of Venice}}
{{For timeline}}

=== Origins ===
{{Sidebar timeline
| title    = Timeline of Venice: historical affiliations
| years1   = 421–476
| events1  = {{Noflag|[[Western Roman Empire]]}}
| years2   = 476–493
| events2  = {{Noflag|[[Odoacer|Kingdom of Odoacer]]}}
| years3   = 493–553
| events3  = {{Noflag|[[Ostrogothic Kingdom]]}}
| years4   = 553–584
| events4  = {{Noflag|[[Eastern Roman Empire]]}}
| years5   = 584–697
| events5  = {{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}} ([[Exarchate of Ravenna]])
| years6   = 697–1797
| events6  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Republic of Venice (1659-1675).svg}} [[Republic of Venice]]
| years7   = 1797–1805
| events7  = {{flagicon image|Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor without haloes (1400-1806).svg}} [[Habsburg monarchy]]
| years8   = 1805–1814
| events8  = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.svg}} [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]]
| years9   = 1815–1848
| events9  = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.svg}} [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]
| years10  = 1848–1849
| events10 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of San Marco.svg}} [[Republic of San Marco]]
| years11  = 1849–1866
| events11 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.svg}} [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]
| years12  = 1866–1943
| events12 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg}} [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| years13  = 1943–1945
| events13 = {{flag|Italian Social Republic}}
| years14  = 1946–present
| events14 = {{flag|Italy}}
}}

Although no surviving historical records deal directly with the founding or building of Venice,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zeno |first=Apostolo |author-link=Apostolo Zeno |date=1847 |title=Compendio della storia Veneta di Apostolo Zeno continuata fino alla caduta della repubblica |trans-title=Compendium of the Venetian history of Apostolo Zeno which continued until the fall of the republic |language=it |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSdiAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA9 |publisher=Bonvecchiato |page=9 |quote=Imperciocchè nascendo i principati |trans-quote=Because principalities are born}}</ref> tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees – from nearby [[Ancient Rome|Roman cities]] such as Patavium ([[Padua]]), [[Aquileia]], Tarvisium ([[Treviso]]), [[Altinum]], and Concordia (modern [[Portogruaro]]), as well as from the undefended countryside – who were fleeing successive waves of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] and [[Huns|Hun]] invasions.<ref>Bosio, ''Le origini di Venezia''</ref> This is further supported by the documentation on the so-called "apostolic families", the twelve founding families of Venice who elected the first [[Doge (title)|doge]], who in most cases trace their lineage back to Roman families.<ref>{{cite book |title=L'Origine e discendenza delle famiglie patrizie |last=Barbaro |first=Marco}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Il Campidoglio veneto |last=Cappellari Vivaro |first=Girolamo Alessandro |year=1740}}</ref> Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen, on the islands in the original marshy lagoons, who were referred to as ''incolae lacunae'' ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of [[San Giacomo di Rialto|San Giacomo]] on the islet of [[Rialto]] (''Rivoalto'', "High Shore")—said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421 (the [[Feast of the Annunciation]]).<ref>Zeno, ''Compendio'' 1847:10.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Trudy Ring |author2=Robert M. Salkin |author3=Sharon La Boda |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74JI2UlcU8AC&pg=PA745 |access-date=24 March 2011 |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-884964-02-2 |page=745}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Burckhardt |first=Jacob |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23255316 |title=The civilization of the Renaissance in Italy |date=1990 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-14-044534-X |location=London, England |oclc=23255316}}</ref>

[[File:Képes krónika - 15.oldal - Velence megalapítása.jpg|alt=Chronicon Pictum, Italians, Aquileia, Venice, city, refugees, boat, sea, medieval, chronicle, book, illumination, illustration, history|thumb|The foundation of Venice as depicted in the [[Chronicon Pictum]] in 1358. According to the Hungarian chronicle, King [[Attila]] of the [[Huns]] besieged [[Aquileia]], the inhabitants of the city first fled to a sea island and then founded Venice on the island of Rialto.|left]]

Beginning as early as AD&nbsp;166–168, the [[Quadi]] and [[Marcomanni]] destroyed the main Roman town in the area, present-day [[Oderzo]]. This part of [[Roman Italy]] was again overrun in the early 5th century by the [[Visigoths]] and, some 50&nbsp;years later, by the Huns led by [[Attila]]. The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsula, that of the [[Lombards]] in 568, left the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] only a small strip of coastline in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]], administered from that ancient port and overseen by a viceroy (the [[Exarch]]) appointed by the Emperor in [[Constantinople]]. Ravenna and Venice were connected by just sea routes, and with the Venetians' isolation came increasing autonomy. New ports were built, including those at [[Malamocco]] and [[Torcello]] in the Venetian lagoon. The ''tribuni maiores'' formed the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the lagoon, dating from {{Circa|568}}.<ref group="note">Traditional date as given in William J. Langer, ed. ''An Encyclopedia of World History''.</ref>

The traditional first [[doge of Venice]], [[Paolo Lucio Anafesto]] (Anafestus Paulicius), was elected in 697, as written in the [[Chronicon Venetum et Gradense|oldest chronicle]] by [[John, deacon of Venice]] {{Circa|1008}}. Some modern historians claim Paolo Lucio Anafesto was actually the [[Paul (exarch)|Exarch Paul]], and Paul's successor, [[Marcello Tegalliano]], was Paul's ''[[magister militum]]'' (or "general"), literally "master of soldiers". In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the exarchate rose in a rebellion over the [[iconoclastic controversy]], at the urging of [[Pope Gregory II]]. The exarch, held responsible for the acts of his master, Byzantine Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]], was murdered, and many officials were put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own independent leader for the first time, although the relationship of this to the uprisings is not clear. [[Orso Ipato|Ursus]] was the first of 117 "doges" (''doge'' is the [[Venetian language|Venetian dialectal]] equivalent of the Latin ''[[dux]]'' ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is [[duke]], in standard Italian ''duca'' (see also "[[duce]]".) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo III's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition of this, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the field, was confirmed by Leo as ''dux''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |author-link=John Julius Norwich |date=1982 |title=A History of Venice |title-link=A History of Venice |location=New York |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |page=13}}</ref> and given the added title of ''[[hypatus]]'' (from the Greek for "[[consul]]").<ref>Alethea Wiel (1995)[1898]. ''A History of Venice'', pp.&nbsp;26–27. New York: Barnes & Noble (reprint orig. 1898 London).</ref>

In 751, the [[Lombards|Lombard]] King [[Aistulf]] conquered most of the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]], leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was at Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories, as refugees sought asylum in the area. In 775/6, the [[bishop|episcopal]] seat of Olivolo ([[San Pietro di Castello]]) was created. During the reign of duke [[Agnello Particiaco]] (811–827) the ducal seat moved from Malamocco to the more protected Rialto, within present-day Venice. The monastery of [[Pope Zachary|St Zachary]] and the first [[Doge's Palace, Venice|ducal palace]] and [[basilica of St. Mark]], as well as a walled defense (''civitatis murus'') between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here.

[[Charlemagne]] sought to subdue the city to his rule. He ordered the pope to expel the Venetians from the [[Pentapolis]] along the Adriatic coast;<ref>Langer</ref> Charlemagne's own son [[Pepin of Italy]], king of the Lombards, under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw in 810. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and the Byzantine Emperor [[Nikephoros I Logothetes|Nicephorus]] in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory, and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.

In 828 the new city's prestige increased with the acquisition, from [[Alexandria]], of relics claimed to be of [[St Mark the Evangelist]]; these were placed in the new basilica. Winged lions – visible throughout Venice – are the [[Symbols of the Evangelists|emblem of St Mark]]. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop, and as Byzantine power waned, its own autonomy grew, leading to eventual independence.<ref>{{cite book |title=Venice: A New History |first=Thomas F. |last=Madden |date=2012 |page= |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |isbn=9781101601136}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===
[[File:Republic of Venice – Blank map of the main territories.png|thumb|The [[Republic of Venice]] with its [[Domini di Terraferma|Terraferma]] and [[Stato da Màr]]]]

From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Venice developed into a powerful maritime empire (an Italian [[thalassocracy]] known also as ''[[Maritime republics|repubblica marinara]]''). In addition to Venice there were seven others: the most important ones were [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], [[Republic of Pisa|Pisa]], and [[Duchy of Amalfi|Amalfi]]; and the lesser known were [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusa]], [[Republic of Ancona|Ancona]], [[Duchy of Gaeta|Gaeta]] and [[Republic of Noli|Noli]]. Its own strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Dot On the I In History: Of Gentiles and Jews—a Hebrew Odyssey Scrolling the Internet |last=Hammer |first=Michael B. |publisher=Lulu Publishing Services |year=2017 |isbn=978-1483427010 |ol=30680683M |location=Morrisville |page=239}}</ref> The Republic's embrace of [[Hard currency|sound monetary policies]], especially its reliable [[Sequin (coin)|gold ducat]], underpinned growing confidence in Venetian trade and finance, further strengthening its position in international commerce.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zorzi |first=Alvise |title=La Repubblica del Leone. Storia di Venezia. |year=2001 |isbn=978-88-452-9136-4 |pages=164}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-02-17 |title=Ducato |url=https://numismatica-italiana.lamoneta.it/moneta/W-GDA/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217142244/https://numismatica-italiana.lamoneta.it/moneta/W-GDA/1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-02-17 |access-date=2025-04-09 }}</ref> With the elimination of pirates along the [[Dalmatia|Dalmatian coast]], the city became a flourishing trade centre between Western Europe and the rest of the world, especially with the [[Byzantine Empire]] and [[Asia]], where its navy protected sea routes against piracy.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Piracy as an Islamic-Christian Interface in the Thirteenth Century |journal=Viator |volume=11 |page=165 |doi=10.1484/J.VIATOR.2.301504 |year=1980 |last1=Burns |first1=Robert I|issn = 0083-5897 }}</ref>

The [[Republic of Venice]] seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because [[pirate]]s based there were a menace to trade. The doge already possessed the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of [[Istria]]. Later mainland possessions, which extended across [[Lake Garda]] as far west as the [[Adda River]], were known as the ''Terraferma''; they were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee [[Alps|Alpine]] trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat (on which the city depended). In building its maritime commercial empire, Venice dominated the trade in salt,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~gel115/salt.html |title=The importance of salt |last=Cowen |first=Richard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507083302/http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/salt.html |archive-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> acquired control of most of the islands in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], including [[Crete]], and [[Cyprus]] in the Mediterranean, and became a major power-broker in the [[Near East]]. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as [[Bergamo]], [[Brescia]], and [[Verona, Italy|Verona]] rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders.

[[File:Bartolomeo Colleoni by Andrea del Verrocchio.jpg|thumb|Monument to [[Bartolomeo Colleoni]] (1400–1475), captain-general of the [[Republic of Venice]] from 1455 to 1475]]
Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called [[golden bull]]s or "chrysobulls", in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the empire; but not in the second, reflecting the decline of [[Byzantium]] and the rise of Venice's power.<ref>{{cite book |title=Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire |first=Judith |last=Herrin |date=2008 |page= |publisher=Penguin Adult |isbn=9780141031026}}</ref>

Venice became an imperial power following the [[Fourth Crusade]], which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking [[Constantinople]] and establishing the [[Latin Empire]]. As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the [[Horses of Saint Mark|gilt bronze horses]] from the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]], which were originally placed above the entrance to the cathedral of Venice, [[St Mark's Basilica]] (The originals have been replaced with replicas, and are now stored within the basilica.) After the fall of Constantinople, the former Eastern Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the [[Duchy of the Archipelago]], and captured Crete.<ref>{{cite book |title=Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice |first=Thomas F. |last=Madden |date=2006 |page= |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=9780801885396}}</ref>

The seizure of Constantinople proved as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the [[Anatolia]]n [[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|themes]], after [[Battle of Manzikert|Manzikert]]. Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half-century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self, until [[Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror]] took the city [[Fall of Constantinople|in 1453]].
[[File:Venedig, Vedute Erhard Reuwichs in Peregrinationes in terram sanctam, Mainz 1486.jpg|thumb|left|500px|Venice veduta by [[Erhard Reuwich]] for the ''Peregrinationes in terram sanctam,'' Mainz 1486]]

[[File:San Giorgio Maggiore - Venice, Italy - panoramio.jpg|thumb|View of [[San Giorgio Maggiore]] from [[St. Mark's Campanile]]]]
Situated on the [[Adriatic Sea]], Venice had always traded extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the [[Middle East]]. By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and to support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the [[Great Council of Venice|Great Council]], which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials, and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a [[Council of Ten]] (also called the Ducal Council, or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "[[doges of Venice|doge]]", or duke, to be the chief executive; he would usually hold the title until his death, although several Doges were forced, by pressure from their [[oligarchy|oligarchical]] peers, to resign and retire into [[monastery|monastic]] seclusion, when they were felt to have been discredited by political failure.

The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the doge), a senator-like assembly of nobles, and the general citizenry with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected doge. Church and various private property was tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The ''Cavalieri di San Marco'' was the only order of [[chivalry]] ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of [[commerce]] by other means. Therefore, the city's early employment of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce.

Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism, and executed nobody for religious heresy during the [[Counter-Reformation]]. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the [[papacy]]. In this context, the writings of the Anglican divine [[William Bedell]] are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the [[Interdict (Catholic canon law)|interdict]] on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most noted, occasion was in 1606, by order of [[Pope Paul V]].<ref>{{cite CE1913 |wstitle=Pope Paul V |volume=11 |last=Loughlin |first=James Francis |short=1}}</ref>

The newly invented German [[printing press]] spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world; the leading printer was [[Aldus Manutius]], who invented paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nadeau |first=Barbie Latza |title=The Man Who Changed Reading Forever |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/aldus-manutius-printing-typeface-typography-italics-venice-180956855/ |date=6 November 2015 |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> His ''Aldine Editions'' included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.<ref>James Burke, ''Connections'' (Little, Brown and Co., 1978/1995), {{ISBN|978-0-316-11672-5}}, p.105</ref>

=== Decline ===
Venice's long decline started in the 15th century. Venice confronted the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430)]] and sent ships to help defend [[Constantinople]] against the besieging Turks in 1453. After the [[Fall of Constantinople]], [[Sultan Mehmed II]] declared the first of a series of [[Ottoman-Venetian wars]] that cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. [[Vasco da Gama]]'s 1497–1499 voyage opened a sea route to [[India]] around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and destroyed Venice's monopoly. Venice's [[oared vessels]] were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing oceans, therefore Venice was left behind in the race for [[colonies]].<ref name="www.studenti.it">{{Cite web |title=Repubblica di Venezia: storia, cronologia e caratteristiche della Serenissima |trans-title=Republic of Venice: history, chronology and characteristics of the Serenissima |url=https://www.studenti.it/repubblica-venezia-storia-cronologia-caratteristiche-della-serenissima.html |last=Angione |first=Edoardo |date=15 July 2019 |access-date=7 July 2023 |work=Studenti |language=it}}</ref>

[[File:Gaspar van Wittel - View of the San Marco Basin.JPG|thumb|View of [[San Marco basin]] in 1697]]

The [[Black Death]] devastated Venice in 1348 and struck again between 1575 and 1577.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=William J. |year=2009 |title=A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World |pages=143 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0802144164}}</ref> In three years, the [[plague (disease)|plague]] killed some 50,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |author=State of Texas, Texas Department of State Health Services |url=http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/bt_public_history_plague.shtm |title=History of Plague |publisher=Dshs.state.tx.us |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-date=11 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411041422/http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/bt_public_history_plague.shtm |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1630, the [[Italian plague of 1629–31]] killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lindemann |first=Mary |year=1999 |title=Medicine and society in early modern Europe |pages=41 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521423546}}</ref>

Venice began to lose the position as a centre of [[international trade]] during the later part of the [[Renaissance]] as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth. France and Spain fought for [[hegemony]] over Italy in the [[Italian Wars]], marginalising its political influence. However, Venice remained a major exporter of agricultural products and until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing centre.<ref name="www.studenti.it" />

=== Modern age ===
{{Wide image|Panorama of Venice 1870s.jpg|3000px|align-cap=center|1870s panoramic view of Venice}}

The Republic of Venice lost its independence when [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the [[War of the First Coalition]]. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population. He removed the gates of the [[Venetian Ghetto|Ghetto]] and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.

Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. Venice was taken from Austria by the [[Treaty of Pressburg (1805)|Treaty of Pressburg]] in 1805 and became part of [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy]]. It was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]. In 1848 a revolt briefly re-established the [[Repubblica di San Marco|Venetian republic]] under [[Daniele Manin]], but this was crushed in 1849. In 1866, after the [[Third Italian War of Independence]], Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created [[Kingdom of Italy]].

From the middle of the 18th century, [[Trieste]] and papal [[Ancona]], both of which became free ports, competed with Venice more and more economically. Habsburg Trieste in particular boomed and increasingly served trade via the [[Suez Canal]], which opened in 1869, between Asia and Central Europe, while Venice very quickly lost its competitive edge and commercial strength.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kretschmayr |first=Heinrich |author-link=Heinrich Kretschmayr |title=Geschichte von Venedig |volume=3 |date=2017 |page=450}}</ref>

[[File:View of the Grand Canal from Rialto to Ca'Foscari.jpg|thumb|[[Grand Canal (Venice)|Grand Canal]] from Rialto to Ca' Foscari (2016)]]

During [[World War II]], the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being [[Operation Bowler]], a successful [[Royal Air Force]] precision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on the city itself.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1508776/Group-Captain-George-Westlake.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1508776/Group-Captain-George-Westlake.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Group Captain George Westlake |date=26 January 2006 |access-date=13 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste, and Trento were [[Oil Campaign chronology of World War II|repeatedly bombed]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Patrick G. Skelly, Pocasset MA |url=http://www.milhist.net/usaaf/mto.html |title=US Army Air Force Operations Mediterranean Theater |website=Mil Hist |date=6 May 2005 |access-date=27 July 2010 |archive-date=23 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823215910/http://www.milhist.net/usaaf/mto.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> On 29 April 1945, a force of [[British military|British]] and [[2nd New Zealand Division|New Zealand]] troops of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]], under Lieutenant General [[Bernard Freyberg|Freyberg]], liberated Venice, which had been a hotbed of anti-Mussolini Italian partisan activity.<ref>{{cite book |title=After Hitler: The Last Days of the Second World War in Europe |first=Michael |last=Jones |date=2015 |page= |publisher=John Murray Press |isbn=9781848544970}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Patrick G. Skelly, Pocasset MA |url=http://www.milhist.net/history/onemoreriver.html |title=New Zealand troops relieve Venice |website=Mil Hist |date=21 July 1945 |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-date=21 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921053626/http://www.milhist.net/history/onemoreriver.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Venice was listed as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 1987, inscribing it as "Venice and its Lagoon".