Venice Crossroads of the World

In 1501, upon learning the details of the voyage of Christopher Columbus, the State Historian of the Republic of Venice, Pietro Bembo offered the observation that “it really was a fine thing to encounter new lands-almost another world—and to place on record peoples who had been concealed and cut off from us.” Early Modern Venice boasted the most diverse population in Europe, if not the world. As a result, the visual culture of this waterborne Republic was influenced by the arts and civilizations of the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. Through our study of this singular environment, this two-quarter sequence will address the experience of living in a multicultural state whose livelihood was based on global trade. We will investigate the ways in which the visual arts embraced and showcased Venice's diversity and apply our historical study to the global, multicultural society in which we live today.