Imagine Seeing Venice When It Was Like This

A diverse and jostling view of the Italian city

The Piazza of Saint Mark’s, Venice (1883) by William Logsdail. Oil on canvas. 126.2 × 222.3 cm. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK. Image source BMA (open access)

Venice is a city of splendour.

The great seafaring city-state, which sits at the crossroads of east and west having traded with both, became a city of merchants and travellers, bringing in silks, spices, marbles, indigo and jewels.