History of Venice Podcast

Pope Innocent wants a Crusade. The Venetians are good and devout Catholics, but what they really want is trade. How do these two forces combine in the preparations for the Pope’s glorious attempts to recapture the lost territory of the Holy Land? 

In the second part of our epic series on the 4th Crusade we look at how the early fateful decisions were made, as the Doge agrees a contract with the Marshal of Champagne. Everything that happens later flows from here.

Email us at [email protected], or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

We've finally reached the Fourth Crusade. To kick us off with the background, we speak to history podcaster and author Marco Cappelli, whose recent book "Quando Venezia Distrusse l'Impero Romano" lays out the whole story in colourful and captivating detail. We ask him about the political environment in the crusading movement and in Byzantium when the new Pope Innocent III calls yet another crusade in 1198. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Email us at [email protected], or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Find Marco's podcast, Storia d'Italia, on all good podcast providers.

Storia d'Italia website: www.italiastoria.com

Join Marco's mailing list

Read his books:
- "Per un pugno di barbari" sulla crisi del III secolo 
- "Il miglior nemico di Roma" sulla storia dei Visigoti
- "Quando Venezia distrusse l'Impero romano" sulla Quarta crociata
 

Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

In 1192, Venice elects a new Doge. In an age of warrior kings, the Venetian electoral college picks an 85-year-old blind man. It’s time for us to meet the legendary Enrico Dandolo.

Recommended reading for this episode: Thomas Madden “Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice”.

Email us at [email protected], or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

We’ve been so focused on the dramatic events of the second half of the 12th century recently that we haven’t had much chance to look at the people who led the city of Venice through these dramatic times. Today, we reflect on the Doges from 1148 to 1192, to see whether any of them are likely to be in the conversation when we eventually reach the end of the century and pick our favourite overall. So please join us for the stories of Campanile Doge, Murdered Doge, the Doge of Peace, and Cookie Doge.

Email us at [email protected], or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

Byzantine chronicler Niketas Choniates tells a lurid tale of the chaos that engulfed the Empire between 1180 and 1185 -- the crucial period when the Venetian hostages were finally released. It's an extraordinary story, and it's hugely important as background for what the Venetians are going to do next. In a break from our normal format, we did this one as a chat rather than a fully scripted episode. So please sit back and relax with us as we try to navigate our way through the turmoil of Constantinople in the 1180s. It's going to be a wild ride.

Email us at [email protected], or find us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org