Venice: Queen City Of The Adriatic (1951)

[Music] this is Venice in northern Italy often called the Queen City of the Adriatic it is built on a group of small island here people travel in boats called gondolas through canals which service streets the buildings of Venice are made of stone brought from the mainland millions of wooden pilings had to be driven into the marshy islands to make a solid foundation for the building why do you suppose such a strange location was chosen for a city how could this community have prospered and grown this is how it came about many hundreds of years ago before there was a Venice another city of Italy Rome controlled almost all of Europe and the Mediterranean shores over a long period of years enemies attacked the Roman lands many of these invaders came through northern mountain passes or along the coast and settled in this valley in northern Italy some of the people who lived here fled eastward toward the Adriatic Sea near the shore these refugees found a small group of islands they could defend they settled on these islands and lived by fishing and making salt many years went by and trade between the people of Europe and Asia became more and more important along these trade routes the products of Asia were sent westward to Europe and the goods of Europe moved to the east the people of Venice called Venetians saw they could make money carrying these Goods back and forth by the year 1000 they had built a great fleet of merchant ships and a navy to protect them the Venetians also captured the ports which their ships used and soon they controlled all trade in the eastern Mediterranean Sea this commerce made Venice very wealthy it grew to be the richest city in Europe where there had been only mud huts at one time Venice was now the powerful center of a great empire the head of the venetian government was called the Doge he lived in this palace with its many arches this gothic style originated in Central Europe behind the Doge's Palace is st. Mark's Cathedral this is a type of architecture called Byzantine which came from Constantinople this great clock tower is a Renaissance design a style which originated in Italy because the people of Venice traded with so many other parts of the world they could select from a wide variety of styles in building and art this group of buildings is the Arsenal it is a factory where the Venetians built their ships in more materials it was so well managed that during a war with the Turks centuries ago Venice built 100 fully armed warships here in only 100 days the largest waterway was called the grand canal it is the main street of Venice on the rialto bridge crossing the Grand Canal the killers and silversmiths had shops these fine palaces were the homes of wealthy merchants who operated the trading ships the lower floor of the palace was usually a warehouse for storing cargoes the merchant and his family lived on the floors above ships were moored to these pilings their colors showed which family owned them the wealth and importance of Venice lasted for centuries but finally about four hundred years ago ships found a way to sail around Africa to reach the wealth of India and China entirely by sea the Mediterranean trade routes lost much of their traffic and Venice became less important wars with her neighbors reduced venetian territory until she was no longer a large empire and finally less than a hundred years ago venice became a part of a new nation being created on the peninsula the nation of Italy today light in Venice is still affected by the city's strange location the many small streets are extremely narrow one must often climb steps to cross the city's 400 bridges such narrow streets and bridges cannot easily be used for wagons or trucks and so heavy cargo still travel by barge through the many miles of canals although these loads are modern products they are carried in barges like those used a thousand years ago steam launches carry passengers along the Grand Canal they do the work of street cars or buses in other cities food is sold in markets like this one some food comes from the mainland in ancient times however when the mainland was occupied by enemies the nations raised their food on the islands many of these islands were set aside as farms with canals taking the place of country lanes these farms still supply much of the food for Venice in the early days fish were also a major food source fishing is still an important industry of the region today as in ancient times the people of Venice make ornamental glass Venetian glass is world-famous for its beauty another important industry is the making of lace making glassware and lace a very practical occupations here since they do not require much raw material or storage space and that is a great advantage in this crowded community in modern Venice shipping is still important but now her cargoes travel mainly to and from inland cities of Italy although in the past shipping was the greatest source of income for the nations today the tourist trade is the most important every year thousands of visitors come to vast by rail or highway crossing this bridge or causeway from the mainland on the island end of the causeway is a modern garage where tourists may store their cars beyond this point one may travel by gondola centuries ago such crafts were for private transportation but now almost all gondolas are used for taxi service many famous old palaces have been made over for the use of visitors this old residence has become a museum of Venetian art still others are now luxurious hotels with restaurants and gardens overlooking the canal many tourists as well as the nation's enjoy feeding the thousands of pigeons of st. Mark's Square in front of the old cathedral another favorite spot is the Lido Beach the long sandbar separating the lagoons of Venice from the Adriatic Sea this is the story of Venice where canals serve the streets and where modern life and work follow the pattern set by this unusual location and by the rich and colorful history of the city in studying the Venice of today we must keep in mind the Venice of the past how it was founded by refugees from an invasion other people brought to the islands materials to build a city how Venice because of its location and the skill of its people was able to control the commerce between Europe and Asia and to become the greatest shipping center and the wealthiest city of Europe now although her power has faded Venice is still one of the world's great historical and art centers today 1,500 years after it was founded Venice remains the queen city of the Adriatic [Music]