For most of us, probably, Venice is that fascinating city on the Adriatic, where the traffic jams are on the water and where, at the time of writing this review, St. Mark's square is under water as the result of a devastatingly high tide. The impact of thousands of tourists carried by huge cruise liners has also made the headlines, with the probability that they will be barred from the lagoon. The main commercial interest in Venice may now be tourism, but at an earlier time Venice was the richest city in Europe, the wealth built on trading with the countries of the Mediterranean and to the east beyond. By the 15th century Venice had a maritime empire of possessions scattered along the shores of the Adriatic and the Aegean, including the islands of Crete and Cyprus. Shakespeare's picture of the merchants of Venice, awaiting the return of ships bearing commercial treasure from the East is by no means exaggerated.
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