Tuesday, December 7, 2010

16th Century Research Journal

During the 16th century the City of Venice, in northern Italy, was the heart of an independent republic with holdings all throughout the Mediterranean.  The Venetians maintained an uneasy state of neutrality in the 16th century, only fighting to defend it's colonial territories from the Turkish invaders.  These territories include the islands of Cyprus, below Asia Minor; and Crete, just south of the Aegean Sea.  Despite attempts to defend them, both fell to the Turkish Empire before the end of the century.  After losing it's main political and military power, Venice became a site of lavish pleasure in Europe.  It contains the first public opera house, opened in 1637.  The many canals that run through Venice, due to the fact that the bulk of the city is built over water, made it a unique visiting place for the wealthy and poor alike.

4 comments:

  1. So the first opera house was made in the city of Venice. It seems that Venice would have been a capital.

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  2. I wonder why they built the city over water?

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  3. Venice must have been more of a tourist attraction later in the 16th century then. I think Venice might have had a role in judicial decisions of the century.

    -Ross S.

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  4. That's cool I didn't know that's where the first opera house was.

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