The course will look at literary and filmic representations of Renaissance Venice, analyzing fictional and non-fictional texts written in the early modern period along with late twentieth-century (re)visions of the city.

After a preliminary overview of the history of early modern Venice and its myths and counter-myths by both Venetian and foreign authors, the main focus will be on writings by English travellers (Thomas Coryat) and playwrights (Shakespeare and Ben Jonson).
Special attention will be then given to texts by women writers (Tarabotti, Franco, Stampa) and Jewish authors (Modena, Coppio Sullam).

The last part of the course will be devoted to postmodern and postcolonial representations of Renaissance Venice by Caryl Phillips, Gareth Armstrong and Fred Wilson.
These contemporary texts, and two films, will be used to discuss the appeal of Renaissance Venice for contemporary audiences.


This course will explore various cultural materials to:

a) reconsider seminal representations of the city against the grain.
b) analyze popular literary and filmic narratives on the city to consider how they perpetuate or challenge traditional stereotypes about Renaissance Venice
c) read alternative, dissident representations that have tried to pit Venice’s reality against its mesmerizing myths.