Ambition and Imposition: Venice and the Environment Through History

The Venetian Lagoon was a decidedly inhospitable place for human settlement, which explains why there is little Roman history there. So what drove people to begin settling the area in substantial numbers starting in the fifth century CE, and how did they survive, and even thrive? This class explores the ways in which the
Venetians intervened in their particular lagoon environment, and the mainland beyond, in radical ways that directed the fortunes of this extraordinary empire for centuries.