History of Venice: readings
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Luca Pes, Venice International University
Gherardo Ortalli and Giovanni Scarabello, A Short History of Venice, Pacini Editore 1999 - by far the best very brief and reliable chronological synthesis widely available, by two scholars of Università Ca’ Foscari.
Elisabeth Crouzet Pavan, Venice Triumphant: the Horizons of a Myth, The Johns Hopkins University Press 2005
– top French scholar on Medieval Venice deconstructs myth and tells the history before 1797: excellent and updated, best recent book
Friedric Lane, Venice. A Maritime republic, The Johns Hopkins University Press 1973 – the classic synthesis on the History of Venice, which rightly keeps being reprinted. Lane has been the most outstanding US economic and social historian on Venice (esp. Renaissance): very reliable and clear.
Margaret Plant, Venice. Fragile City 1797-1997, Yale University Press 2003 - by far best book in English on Venice post-1797. It is very updated and encompasses politics, culture and architecture. The author is Professor Emeritus in Art History in Melbourne, Australia.
