Elizabeth Horodowich
Author of A Brief History of Venice
About the Author
Image credit: Elizabeth Horodowich
Works by Elizabeth Horodowich
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1970-12-18
- Gender
- female
- Country (for map)
- United States of America
- Places of residence
- Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
- Education
- University of Michigan
Oberlin College - Occupations
- historian
university professor - Organizations
- New Mexico State University
Members
Reviews
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 70
- Popularity
- #248,179
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 3
- ISBNs
- 14
OPD: 2009
format: 259-page Kindle ebook
acquired: May 24 read: May 25 – Jun 3 time reading: 6:30, 1.5 mpp
rating: 4
genre/style: History theme: Italy
about the author: A professor of history at New Mexico State University, born ~1970?
Starts off so well organized. The chronology is clear, and all the themes are carefully worked in, making for a really terrific history with writing that feels very contemporary and that is of a quality that's hard to find. It didn't last through the whole book, which slows down a lot later. But it remained readable and informative. I recommend this to anyone going to Venice and looking for a quick thorough history. It's really good for that and I'm grateful to have read it during my visit.
Things I knew - Venice was a big deal before the Portuguese rounded Africa. It was a powerful, independent city, with a huge wealth based on controlling east-west trade.
Things I didn't know - Venice wasn't Roman. It was founded as a safe haven from Germanic barbarians, who didn't want to raid a swamp, after the fall of Rome. Venice conquered and controlled Constantinople for ~50 years (roughly from 1200 - 1250). Venice had a really weird system of government, run by a duke, the Doge, with heavily curtailed powers. This lasted about 1000 years, and Venice never had a peasant or popular revolt or uprising. Venice's surrender to Napoleon not only marked the end of its odd governmental structure, but also ruined the city, which became a backwater and tourist destination. Venice only has 60,000 residents, which is typically less the daily number of tourists.
2023
https://www.librarything.com/topic/351556#8167295… (more)