0:00:22 > 0:00:261,550 years ago,
0:00:26 > 0:00:31Attila the Hun brought terror to the people of Northern Italy.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39He burned and pillaged his way through villages and towns.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49The people were left with only two choices -
0:00:49 > 0:00:51escape...or die.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54The refugees escaped to this -
0:00:54 > 0:00:59a group of tiny islands in a mosquito-infested lagoon.
0:00:59 > 0:01:06Here, they created the most beautiful city in the world - Venice.
0:01:20 > 0:01:27This great city is a temple to romance and passion and beauty...
0:01:35 > 0:01:41..often borne out of violence and disease, ambition and lust.
0:01:44 > 0:01:52This place has produced some of the most brilliant art the world has ever seen.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57But all around us, every stone of the city, every brick,
0:01:57 > 0:02:03is a brush stroke on the greatest work of art of all - Venice.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The story Of Venice is also MY story.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43My name is Francesco da Mosto - I'm a Venetian.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49My family has lived here for more than a thousand years.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54I have always lived here.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00My children were born here,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04and I hope my family will live here for another thousand years.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19We were one of the first families to come to the lagoon.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22My ancestors had been everything
0:03:22 > 0:03:27from merchants to prostitutes to explorers.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29The city is in my blood.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Most great cities grew up because they were in a good location -
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Paris, Rome, London.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54But here, Venice, no.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58This city grew up because it was in a very, very bad location.
0:04:00 > 0:04:07It was a perfect hiding place for the settlers who fled here from Attila the Hun
0:04:07 > 0:04:11almost 16 centuries ago.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25The Venetian lagoon is an enclosed shallow sea,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28200 square miles of salt water
0:04:28 > 0:04:31dotted with tiny islands.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40It sits at the top of the Adriatic Sea,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43between Italy and Yugoslavia.
0:05:04 > 0:05:11Even now, many of the islands in the lagoon are strange and desolate places,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15each one little more than a boggy marsh -
0:05:15 > 0:05:18half sea, half land.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26All my life, people have been saying that Venice is sinking.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31But these islands have been sinking from the beginning of time.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35They're made of sand, mud...
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Not solid ground.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43So the first settlers had to invent a new way of living, and a new way to build.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50The first houses looked like this.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Built in the mud and on the water.
0:05:59 > 0:06:05But before they could build anything, they had to make a solid foundation.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19So they began hammering wooden piles into the lagoon.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Today, we're still doing the same thing.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27All of Venice is built on a bed of huge wooden nails.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02The marshland was no good for farming,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06so the early settlers had to become fishermen.
0:07:26 > 0:07:33The settlers lived on the fish of the lagoon, but it was also their currency.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36They would trade fish
0:07:36 > 0:07:38for wood, wheat and wine.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42And fish is still a great passion for us Venetians.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19The first big settlement was on the island of Torcello,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23eight kilometres to the north-east of Venice today.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Its basilica still stands.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38It dates from the year 639.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Here you feel close to the early settlers in the lagoon,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53struggling to survive,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58yet ambitious to create great beauty.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02On the west wall is a scene of the Last Judgment.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25But this is not like most Italian churches.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30To the Western eye, these figures are surprising.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43They are Christian images,
0:09:43 > 0:09:48but they are rooted in artistic traditions from beyond Europe,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52from the East before it was Islamic.
0:09:53 > 0:10:00It was here in Torcello that the lagoon dwellers first showed their genius in art.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04But their future would not be on this island.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Their greatest creation - Venice - lay just around the corner.
0:10:16 > 0:10:23When the settlers had fled Attila the Hun, they had occupied the outer reaches of the lagoon.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27And for more than three centuries, they had been safe.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32But now prosperity made them an attractive target.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37In the year 810, they were attacked,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41this time from the open sea.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47The settlers fled to the heart of the lagoon,
0:10:47 > 0:10:53to the group of small islands known as the Rivo Alto.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58But in the panic, they were about to stumble on the secret of the lagoon,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02a discovery shrouded in the mists of time.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10There is a legend in which the attackers were directed by an old woman to Rivo Alto
0:11:10 > 0:11:16with just a simple word. She said, "sempre dritto" - straight on.
0:11:18 > 0:11:26Far from betraying the fleeing settlers, the old woman of the legend knew the secret of the lagoon,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30the secret that would destroy any enemy fleet.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44The ships ran aground, because beneath the calm waters of the lagoon
0:11:44 > 0:11:47lay a treacherous underwater terrain
0:11:47 > 0:11:52of shallows and mudflats that wrecked the enemy fleet.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05So, it would be here the settlers built Venice.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13The waters of the lagoon would protect Venice from land attack,
0:12:13 > 0:12:19while the shallows would make attack by sea impossible.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23The city would be a miracle of its geography.
0:12:26 > 0:12:34But its location would also make life hard for the first Venetians.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38In summer, the heat and humidity can be almost unbearable.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42In the early days, malaria killed off many Venetians.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48In winter, the city lies exposed to the snows and biting wind
0:12:48 > 0:12:54beating down from the Dolomite mountains to the north.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07Banks of fog sweep in across the flatlands of the lagoon and settle over Venice
0:13:07 > 0:13:14like a deep impenetrable blanket that clings to the narrow waterways.
0:13:23 > 0:13:30The early Venetians set about making their new home into a place to live and work.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35They would expand the inlets and rivers of the Rivo Alto islands
0:13:35 > 0:13:40into the greatest network of canals ever created.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Today, distracted by fine churches and palaces,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55we forget the first great success of this city was its canals.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02They are triumphs of early engineering.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09But they have always been a delicate balance -
0:14:09 > 0:14:14harnessing the tidal waters of the lagoon to man's needs.
0:14:42 > 0:14:49Every few years, each canal has to be blocked by a dam, then drained,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53so that the wood piles in the foundation walls can be repaired.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32The spreading network of canals shaped the city that grew up around them.
0:15:32 > 0:15:39Houses lined the canals and bridges crossed them.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46Water would define the very layout of the city -
0:15:46 > 0:15:53both the abundance of salt water and the need for fresh water.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Here in Venice, we're all surrounded by salt water.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01It is very difficult to find fresh water to drink.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03So what did they decide to do?
0:16:03 > 0:16:10They made some wells to collect rainwater and they stored it in underground tanks.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15These four parts are to filter the water in sand.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18They went down in an underground tank...
0:16:18 > 0:16:21This is the old stone, and then here there is the tank.
0:16:21 > 0:16:28And then, all around the well, there was the normal life, there were the houses, they were living day by day.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Each square had its own small community.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41They were tightknit and tightly packed.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Each bridge crossed was a journey into a different territory.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58There were feuds, and one feud in particular between the Nicolottis and the Castellanis.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15The Nicolottis and the Castellanis were gangs,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17sworn rivals.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19They hated each other.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23The hatred led to fighting, blood and death.
0:17:23 > 0:17:30The fights became known as "la guerra dei pugni".
0:17:34 > 0:17:37The Castellanis were shipbuilders.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41They wore red hats and scarves.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The Nicolottis were hard-living fishermen.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47They wore black.
0:17:47 > 0:17:55Castellani women wore flowers on one side of their breast, and the Nicolotti on the other breast.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Blood feuds continued for generations.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22So Venice needed strong government to impose law and order.
0:18:23 > 0:18:30It was to evolve a system like no other in the world, and a ruler unlike any other -
0:18:30 > 0:18:32the doge.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38The doge was an elected ruler,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41head of a republic, not a monarchy.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47His descendants couldn't inherit, but he did live in a palace.
0:18:52 > 0:18:59The doges' Palace is one of the most extraordinary buildings in the world.
0:19:01 > 0:19:08There has been a palace on this site from the early 9th century.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11From here, for almost 1,000 years,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14the doge ruled Venice.
0:19:14 > 0:19:20The present building is a mix of Gothic and classical, East and West,
0:19:20 > 0:19:26the marriage of styles that would come to define the look of Venice.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32The doge could enjoy a fine palace at a time when other rulers
0:19:32 > 0:19:37hid themselves away in heavy medieval fortifications.
0:19:37 > 0:19:45Venice was beginning to exhibit the confidence that came with its miraculous location -
0:19:45 > 0:19:49impregnable to attack, protected by the lagoon.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01At the top of the giant staircase in the palace courtyard
0:20:01 > 0:20:06are the figures of Neptune and Mars, the gods of the sea
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and war.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13It seemed as though Venice had tamed them both.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15This was the ultimate seat of power.
0:20:15 > 0:20:21The doge presided over the Ruling Council here.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Laws were made here and justice dispensed.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Even the state prison was part of the palace.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33And, at its centre, the doge lived in splendour.
0:20:33 > 0:20:41This is your Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London and Buckingham Palace rolled into one.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56Throughout the palace, Venice is represented as a beautiful woman.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06In painting after painting, she appears with Christ himself.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16At times, she seems to outshine even the son of God.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25The doge, too, is deified.
0:21:25 > 0:21:31These images foretell what Venice would become - proud and arrogant.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35The doge even appears with the Madonna.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43But that was all far in the future.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48In the early days, the doge was far from being considered a god.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53In fact, as warring families fought for control of Venice,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57the doge had trouble even staying alive.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Doge Teodato Ipato came to a terrible end.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12He was blinded and deposed by his successor.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Doge Domenico Monegario
0:22:17 > 0:22:23was stabbed to death in his own palace.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27And 80-year-old Doge Pietro Tradonico
0:22:27 > 0:22:32was sprung on by an armed gang and left for dead.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38But, over time, things improved.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44This is the Great Council chamber.
0:22:44 > 0:22:52Here, the doge presided over meetings with the 2,500 representatives of Venice.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56This room was at the heart of Venetian government.
0:23:02 > 0:23:10What we see today is the replacement to an earlier hall, burnt down in 1577.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15But it reflects the confidence of early Venice.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20At the far end, is a huge canvas by Tintoretto.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23His vision of paradise,
0:23:23 > 0:23:30a bold assertion that Venetian government could match the divine order above.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36Venice tried so hard to banish earthly imperfections,
0:23:36 > 0:23:43that the whole process of electing a doge turned into a real nightmare.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47First, nine members were chosen by lottery.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52And these nine had to choose 40 members of the Great Council.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58And each of these 40 members had to be approved by at least seven of the nine.
0:23:58 > 0:24:04From these 40, they drew lots and they become 25.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09And these 25 have to choose another 12.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14The 12 decided, they choose another 45.
0:24:14 > 0:24:21And from the 45, they arrive to be 12. Sorry, 11.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Eleven.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28These 11 were going to choose 41 voters,
0:24:28 > 0:24:33and it is this 41 that are going to make the election of the doge.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35It was that easy(!)
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Even us Venetians don't really understand it.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43But we do understand that it worked. I think so.
0:24:46 > 0:24:52So, for the times, Venice made immense efforts to avoid the corruption of other states,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56to stop power falling into the hands of one dynasty.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Even ordinary people could have some influence on government.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03All over the palace are these letter boxes.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08Into the mouth, people could post private accusations
0:25:08 > 0:25:11of crimes committed at any level of society.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17It worked - Venetians were amongst the most law-abiding of Europeans.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22Even the doge was checked for bribery and corruption.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Every indulgence was granted to the doge,
0:25:26 > 0:25:32except he was not allowed to speak to foreigners without supervision...
0:25:32 > 0:25:39except every letter he wrote, even to his wife, had to pass before a censor.
0:25:39 > 0:25:46He could receive gifts, but only flowers, rose water, sweet herbs and balsam.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So he had everything... except his freedom.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58In this room, are pictures of every doge who ruled Venice.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Only one is missing -
0:26:03 > 0:26:10hidden by a black cloth is the face of Doge Marin Falier,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15the doge who tried to make himself king, to overthrow the republic.
0:26:16 > 0:26:23The plot was foiled and he was beheaded on the steps to the palace.
0:26:23 > 0:26:29The office of the doge brought to Venice all the majesty of a monarchy
0:26:29 > 0:26:32without its dynastic limitations.
0:26:32 > 0:26:39In a world of magnificent court ritual, Venice was unrivalled.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42But the city lacked a spiritual figurehead,
0:26:42 > 0:26:47something all powerful cities of the age possessed,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50the relics of a great saint to call its own.
0:26:50 > 0:26:57Rome had the body of St Peter, an apostle, and a direct link to Christ.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03All Venice had was St Theodore - truly a second-division saint.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08But the Venetians believed they had a claim on someone greater.
0:27:11 > 0:27:18Local legend claimed that the apostle St Mark, blown off-course into the Venetian lagoon,
0:27:18 > 0:27:26had seen an angel who told him one day he would be laid to rest there.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Inspired by the legend,
0:27:34 > 0:27:41two Venetian merchants slipped unnoticed into the crypt of a church in Alexandria
0:27:41 > 0:27:43on the north coast of Africa.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52They were there to steal one of the most sacred relics of the Christian world -
0:27:52 > 0:27:58the remains of St Mark the Apostle.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02In the medieval world, the relics of saints
0:28:02 > 0:28:09who were close to Christ brought in huge amounts of money from pilgrims.
0:28:09 > 0:28:16They conferred sacred status on a city and inspired armies to feats of military glory.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22News of the theft spread quickly.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26All the ships in the harbour were searched.
0:28:28 > 0:28:34But the merchants concealed the body of the saint in a basket, under pieces of pork,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38and the Muslim soldiers fled.
0:28:41 > 0:28:47The audacious plan had succeeded, and St Mark came back to Venice.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55The city had a saint to rival even Rome,
0:28:55 > 0:29:02and soon the ancient symbol of St Mark became the emblem of Venice -
0:29:02 > 0:29:05the winged lion.
0:29:12 > 0:29:19When the Venetians built a church to house the body of their new saint,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24it would become one of the most recognisable buildings in the world -
0:29:24 > 0:29:28the Basilica of St Mark.
0:29:30 > 0:29:37On the front of the building, a mosaic depicts the body arriving from Alexandria.
0:29:41 > 0:29:48St Mark's is the most extravagant and richly decorated church in the whole of Europe.
0:29:48 > 0:29:56Built as the doges' private chapel, it took 30 years to complete -
0:29:56 > 0:30:01a miracle of engineering for the end of the 11th century,
0:30:01 > 0:30:06though it has been sinking into the marshy ground ever since.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12Like the Basilica of Torcello, the inspiration is from the East.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19The church is in the form of a Greek cross, supporting five great domes.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26The interior is dominated by Christ and his disciples.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31In all, there are 4,000 square metres of mosaic,
0:30:31 > 0:30:36crafted by Venetian artists over several centuries.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Above the altar is the Pala d'Oro,
0:30:41 > 0:30:47the great altar screen created by Venetian and Byzantine goldsmiths.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58Beneath the altar lies the tomb of St Mark,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01the sacred heart of the city.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07But this place is more than an expression of religious devotion.
0:31:07 > 0:31:14For it was here that the authority of the doge received divine sanction.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22In the nave sit two great pulpits.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31One pulpit was reserved for religious addresses,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34the other was for the doge.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42This is where he would address the people of Venice,
0:31:42 > 0:31:47where he stood to proclaim Venice would submit to no-one -
0:31:47 > 0:31:49emperor, king or pope.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55The exterior is an extraordinary confection -
0:31:55 > 0:32:02Venetian ornament mixes with precious objects from overseas.
0:32:02 > 0:32:09In 1075, the doge had proclaimed it was the duty of every travelling Venetian
0:32:09 > 0:32:14to bring treasures back to adorn the facade.
0:32:14 > 0:32:21But it is the domes of St Mark's that give it such a memorable skyline.
0:32:21 > 0:32:28Those famous Eastern-looking onion domes were put on later.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32They are made of wood and covered by lead.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38The real stone domes, much flatter and less eye-catching,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41are hidden underneath.
0:32:48 > 0:32:55St Mark's set the mood for Venice to be the most sensational stage-set the world had ever seen.
0:32:57 > 0:33:04Its religious and political centrepieces proclaimed the city's independence and growing confidence.
0:33:04 > 0:33:11Its people had transformed from fishermen into merchants.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Now merchants would become princes of trade,
0:33:15 > 0:33:22their early wooden houses replaced by brick-and-stone palaces.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Modern Venice was beginning to take shape.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41It was around this time that my family became successful merchants
0:33:41 > 0:33:45and decided to build a grand house.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50It is the oldest palazzo to survive on the Grand Canal.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55Now it is rotting, and one of the saddest sights of the city.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57It breaks my heart.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04This palace is called Ca'da Mosto.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10It was built by my family in the 13th century,
0:34:10 > 0:34:16and my ancestors lived here nearly 400 years, until 1603,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20when it was bequeathed to another family.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23I've driven past it a thousand times...
0:34:23 > 0:34:26but I've never been inside.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36If I have to be sincere, I'm a little shy to come inside this place.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46Because I have always seen this house from outside,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50the mask that normally the public sees.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55It's difficult to enter a world where you have never been before.
0:34:55 > 0:35:02A place you know all the people of your family lived over many centuries.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05It's quite a strange sensation.
0:35:05 > 0:35:11Something that gives you a feeling of all the history on your shoulders.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16You think of who you are in this moment of your life.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31My family didn't just live in this house -
0:35:31 > 0:35:33they did business here.
0:35:39 > 0:35:45They used their house as a warehouse - a showroom.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50And a place to make money, and a landing stage.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03Because the most profitable goods were from overseas,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06a successful merchant had to be a sailor, too.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20When this house was first built
0:36:20 > 0:36:24it would have been a more modest building,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27just two storeys high,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30but it stood at the very hub of the city.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37It was here that merchants built their boats,
0:36:37 > 0:36:43ready to travel ever-greater distances across the seas.
0:36:45 > 0:36:50These merchant sailors had to be ready to defend themselves.
0:36:50 > 0:36:56Their boats, loaded with valuable goods from around the Mediterranean,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00had to fight off pirates and foreign rivals.
0:37:00 > 0:37:08The Venetian merchant traders became feared as the ablest military seamen of the age.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14Trade - something of a dirty word in the rest of Europe -
0:37:14 > 0:37:17was a noble occupation in Venice.
0:37:17 > 0:37:23And one merchant would become more famous than any other.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26His name was Enrico Dandolo.
0:37:33 > 0:37:39And his story would become linked with the fate of the city.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46It began with a gross act of violence against the people of Venice -
0:37:46 > 0:37:53violence that would come from an unexpected source.
0:37:53 > 0:37:59By the 12th century, the Venetians had trading posts all over the Mediterranean.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04Most profitable of all were the trading links with Byzantium,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08and in particular its capital city of Constantinople.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22Byzantium had influenced events in Venice for centuries.
0:38:29 > 0:38:37But now, power had shifted, and Venice was gaining the upper hand.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54This was the old Venetian Quarter in Constantinople.
0:38:54 > 0:38:5810,000 Venetians lived and worked here.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09First, they were invited here to trade,
0:39:09 > 0:39:15but slowly they were taking over and getting rich.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18The Byzantines were not happy.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26The Byzantine Emperor had given them permission to live in a confined area
0:39:26 > 0:39:29of warehouses and wharves by the sea wall.
0:39:29 > 0:39:36But more and more, Venetian merchants spread throughout the city.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48This all became too much for the Byzantine authorities.
0:39:48 > 0:39:54The Venetians were buying up their houses and marrying their women.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02And on one quiet night in March 1171,
0:40:02 > 0:40:08something happened that would change the course of Venetian history.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18As the Venetian trading families sat down to eat,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22they all received an unexpected house call.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33In just a few days, thousands of Venetians were arrested...
0:40:35 > 0:40:40..stripped of their possessions, and thrown into prison.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58The Venetians had been caged by their trading partner.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03Humiliated, they could do nothing but wait.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16For centuries, Venice and Constantinople had been allies,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20but now they had become the worst of enemies.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30News of the arrests travelled fast to Venice.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39You can imagine how the people felt here,
0:41:39 > 0:41:45when they heard that thousands of their fellow citizens had been jailed in Constantinople.
0:41:45 > 0:41:53Brothers, fathers, sons, even mothers and daughters, had all been thrown into prison.
0:41:54 > 0:42:01It was the greatest threat to Venice since the city had risen from the swamps of the lagoon.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09The Venetians decided to negotiate the release of the prisoners.
0:42:09 > 0:42:17There was only one man for the job, Enrico Dandolo, the greatest merchant seaman of the age.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21But it was a trap.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25He was taken prisoner and probably tortured.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30Either that, or he was beaten up on the streets of Constantinople.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38All we know is when he got back to Venice, he was blind.
0:42:56 > 0:43:02We will never know the truth of how Enrico Dandolo lost his sight.
0:43:02 > 0:43:09But one fact we can be sure of - even blinded, stuck in his palace on the Rialto,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12he never abandoned the cause of the republic.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19Venice had been brought to her knees.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24Byzantium had stamped on the city's growing economy
0:43:24 > 0:43:29and wiped out her great trading links with the East.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33But the Venetians were not about to give in.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37Let me tell you something about us Venetians.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39We really stick together.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44Living in this little island in the lagoon, we have to help each other.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Every building is an achievement.
0:43:46 > 0:43:51The Venetian character is in the bridges
0:43:51 > 0:43:54and in the stones around me here.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00How did Venice show her defiance to Constantinople?
0:44:00 > 0:44:01Let me show you.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06We built this - St Mark's Square,
0:44:06 > 0:44:11perhaps the world's most beautiful urban space.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16The surrounding buildings are later, but the piazza itself,
0:44:16 > 0:44:22its proportions and shape, was created in the 12th century -
0:44:22 > 0:44:26planned, cleared of other buildings and paved over
0:44:26 > 0:44:31at the very moment Venice faced financial ruin.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36To build this square,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Venetians reached into their own pockets.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44The money came from everyone,
0:44:44 > 0:44:48from the doge to the ordinary merchant.
0:44:57 > 0:45:04For more than 800 years, this square has been a showpiece of Venetian civic pride.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09Swept daily at dawn to be immaculate,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12we care passionately about this open space.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03St Mark's Square was to be the first example
0:46:03 > 0:46:07of Venice's powers of defiance and recovery -
0:46:07 > 0:46:11symbolised in great architecture.
0:46:12 > 0:46:19And Venice had created a great stage-set for its ceremonial life,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23an arena for pageantry and celebration of the republic.
0:46:26 > 0:46:34The earliest image of the square, from 1496, shows the Feast Day of St Mark,
0:46:34 > 0:46:42and it captures the spirit of ritual that grew up around the piazza almost as soon as it was built.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50More than anything, the creation of this square showed one thing -
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Venice would not be defeated.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58And once the square was complete, to further strengthen their resolve,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02Venice elected a new doge.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06Venetians greeted him with enthusiasm,
0:47:06 > 0:47:13even though he was an old man and it was over 20 years since he had been in the public eye -
0:47:13 > 0:47:16Enrico Dandolo.
0:47:16 > 0:47:22When Dandolo signed his oath of office on 1st January, 1193,
0:47:22 > 0:47:30it brought to the office of doge the greatest patriot Venice had ever known.
0:47:31 > 0:47:37In his oath, he swore to advance the cause of the Venetian Republic.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40But Dandolo would go further.
0:47:40 > 0:47:48At last, the Venetians had found a doge whose ambition for the city would stop at nothing.
0:47:50 > 0:47:58In Enrico Dandolo, they had a master tactician, a brilliant strategist and a consummate politician.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02For me to explain in English is very hard.
0:48:10 > 0:48:18And he was always on the look-out to strengthen the Venetian Republic and its trading prospects.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27For a hundred years, Christian Europe had waged a war against the Islamic world
0:48:27 > 0:48:33for possession of the Holy Land. In particular, Jerusalem.
0:48:33 > 0:48:39In the West, these campaigns became known as the Crusades.
0:48:39 > 0:48:46But the Fourth Crusade of 1201 was short of ships, manpower and money.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51In April that year, the crusaders sailed into the Venetian lagoon
0:48:51 > 0:48:55to ask Enrico Dandolo for Venetian backing.
0:48:57 > 0:49:03Venice had avoided serious involvement in all the previous Crusades,
0:49:03 > 0:49:07but now Dandolo seemed interested.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11All of Christendom waited for his response.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Let's think about it.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17What did Venice have to gain from a Crusade to Jerusalem?
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Would it make the Pope happy? Good.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Everybody will like us? Fine.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26But how important is that?
0:49:26 > 0:49:29But Dandolo agreed to help.
0:49:29 > 0:49:35Venice would build and pay for more ships and more men to sail in them.
0:49:35 > 0:49:43In exchange, he demanded a high price - 50% of the conquered land.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45It was a hard bargain.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Suddenly, it was Dandolo's Crusade.
0:49:51 > 0:49:58This was outrageous - he was hijacking the Crusade - but Dandolo wasn't interested in Jerusalem.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02He had another aim in mind.
0:50:06 > 0:50:12Dandolo's galleon led the fleet of 480 ships out of the lagoon
0:50:12 > 0:50:16on the morning of the 8th November, 1202.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22At first, everything went according to the agreed plan,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25but then Dandolo changed course.
0:50:26 > 0:50:31No longer was Muslim-held Jerusalem their destination.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35They would sail instead for Christian Constantinople.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50The fleet dropped anchor with Constantinople in their sights.
0:50:51 > 0:50:57Now, Dandolo would put the final touches to his plans for revenge
0:50:57 > 0:51:01on the city that 30 years before had imprisoned him
0:51:01 > 0:51:07and so brutally decimated the population of Venetian traders living within its walls.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18The walls of Constantinople
0:51:18 > 0:51:22surrounded the city on the land side
0:51:22 > 0:51:25and all along the coast.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34Over the centuries, they had repelled attacks from the ferocious Bulgars,
0:51:34 > 0:51:40the bloodthirsty Saracens and even the vast army of the Russians.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45The walls were the most impressive man-made defences
0:51:45 > 0:51:48of any city in the world.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53The Venetians would launch their attack from the sea
0:51:53 > 0:51:56AND from the land.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00At the base of the walls,
0:52:00 > 0:52:03the crusaders fought with Byzantine soldiers...
0:52:05 > 0:52:10..and attempted to break the defences with battering rams.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16This was brutal.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Barbaric.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Bloody.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23Murder.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29But it was clear there was only one answer.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35They had to go over the top of the walls.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45The attackers threw up scaling ladders,
0:52:45 > 0:52:50but they were easy prey for the Byzantine forces.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54And now a storm was blowing up.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59The Venetian ships were being smashed against each other.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02The battle was turning against them.
0:53:04 > 0:53:10It was then that one act of mad desperation turned the day.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15A man left to plant the Venetian flag on the shore.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18It was the doge, Enrico Dandolo.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23This roused the Venetians for one last great attack.
0:53:26 > 0:53:32They tied their ships in pairs and built towers on the decks.
0:53:32 > 0:53:39From the towers, they lashed wooden planks together as bridges onto the ramparts.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45The attackers had made it over the walls and into the city.
0:53:55 > 0:54:01Once inside the city walls, the Venetians spared no-one.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12They murdered old and young.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22They raped women,
0:54:22 > 0:54:23girls, nuns.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32Desecrated churches.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36They torched the city.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43This was a shameful victory for the Venetians.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55And in the great church of Hagia Sophia, now a mosque,
0:54:55 > 0:55:00lies the tomb of the man who engineered it all.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09He changed the entire course of Venetian history
0:55:09 > 0:55:11and the history of the world.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16But now almost no-one visits his tomb.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Doge Enrico Dandolo
0:55:24 > 0:55:26never made it back to Venice.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36But what he sent home would enrich my city
0:55:36 > 0:55:40and would change Europe for centuries to come.
0:55:50 > 0:55:56The crusaders had destroyed so many treasures of the ancient world,
0:55:56 > 0:55:58and what the Venetians saved,
0:55:58 > 0:56:02they saved only for their own profit.
0:56:02 > 0:56:08The value of goods and money shipped back to Venice is impossible to calculate -
0:56:08 > 0:56:14gold, silver, and jewels in immense quantities.
0:56:14 > 0:56:20The Basilica of St Mark's became the greatest robbers' den in the world,
0:56:20 > 0:56:25an Aladdin's cave of stolen booty and plundered treasure.
0:56:26 > 0:56:34The opulent altar screen, the Pala d'Oro, was re-embellished with jewels stolen from Constantinople.
0:56:46 > 0:56:53On the outside, the Venetians proudly displayed more stolen treasure.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58Great columns in finest marble.
0:57:01 > 0:57:07These 4th-century Roman emperors are carved out of porphyry
0:57:07 > 0:57:10and originally came from Egypt.
0:57:13 > 0:57:20But the crowning glory from Constantinople was the four great bronze horses.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28Their origins are lost in the mist of time...
0:57:29 > 0:57:33..but legend has it, once they stood in ancient Greece,
0:57:33 > 0:57:40testimony to the artistic genius of the classical world.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44The statues were more artistically brilliant
0:57:44 > 0:57:48than anything Venice had ever dreamed of -
0:57:48 > 0:57:53a shining example that Venetian artists would now seek to emulate.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57They were symbols of a new era for Venice.
0:58:03 > 0:58:08Venice stood on the brink of its golden age,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12richer and more powerful than ever before.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14It would become home
0:58:14 > 0:58:18to some of the most brilliant artists and architects
0:58:18 > 0:58:21the world had ever seen.
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Alison Haggart BBC Broadcast - 2004
0:58:56 > 0:58:59E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk