We've been focused on Venice's explosive relations with Constantinople recently, but the situation on her doorstep in Italy is just as dramatic. So this week, we turn our focus to the new Western Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa. Our podcasting friends Mike (A History of Italy) and Dirk (History of the Germans) guide us through the first of three-part special, which will culminate in the momentous battle of Legnano. This week we look at the background of Barbarossa's first two Italian trips and his grand imperial ambitions.

More information about History of the Germans available here: History of the Germans Podcast • German History Podcast

More information about A History of Italy available here: A History of Italy – A podcast on the history of the Italian peninsula from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the present

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

Thousands of ordinary Venetian merchants have suddenly been imprisoned and bankrupted by the Byzantine Emperor. The city’s leaders need to act quickly and decisively. Within months, a new fleet has been built and is sailing down the Adriatic, ready to confront Manuel Comnenos, just as a previous fleet had bullied his father into submission almost 50 years earlier. But will history repeat itself? Or are there more disasters in store for the Venetians? And what does all of that have to do with a strangely anomalous modernist hotel right at the heart of the city’s historic waterfront?

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

Relations between Venice and Constantinople are getting tense, even as commercial activity is booming. With Emperor Manuel’s universalist ambitions showing no signs of abating, and the equally acquisitive Frederick Barbarossa on their doorstep to the west, the Venetians have a difficult path to tread. And then, on St Gregory’s Day 1171, Manuel takes a dramatic step that ensures that things will never be the same again.

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

We're wandering down a few dark Venetian alleyways this week, in search of some ghost stories to celebrate Halloween. And one of them allegedly features the spirit of one of the presenters' favourite historical characters, Giordano Bruno.

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Intro and outro music is from Vivaldi’s Gloria, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org

Church schisms, imperial schisms, neighbours illegally trying to divert rivers into your lagoon, other neighbours asking for help out of the blue ... as the 12th century heads towards its mid-point, Venice has a lot going on around her. And that's before her Archbishop goes rogue and the Normans seize Corfu. Again. And if that isn't enough for you, we've also got a guest appearance by a distant ancestor of a Shakespearean hero. Find out more as Doxe Pietro Polani realises that he's got 99 problems but a Bishop ain't ... no, 100. He's got 100 problems.

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

This week we’re looking at how all the political shenanigans affected regular Venetian merchants. What were they buying and selling, where were they doing all this general “business”, and how did the rising merchant class affect the city’s political structures? From cashing cheques to imposing checks on political power; from weighing goods on balance scales to creating balance between different family factions at home – every aspect of Venetian life was in some way affected by both checks and balances. 

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

In 1124, the Venetians were the heroes of the crusading movement. They’d destroyed the Saracen fleet and captured one of the two remaining Muslim ports in the area. But this fleet always had a second target in mind, and Domenico Michiel was determined to show the Byzantines why it had been a mistake to end their Special Relationship. Venice isn’t just Constantinople’s junior partner, to be discarded at will. She’s playing in the big leagues now and she can take on anyone. Also, obviously, the Venetians are going to steal a few more Holy Bones while they’re in the area, because that’s just their Thing.

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

With a new Doxe in Venice and a new Emperor in Constantinople, it’s all change in 1118. As the two friends and allies struggle to redefine their relationship and the Byzantines start saying that they were never really exclusive and they’d like to start seeing other people, the Venetians bet the house on a naval expedition that could bankrupt the city if it goes wrong, but could drive even more prosperity to the lagoon if it goes right. This week we find out what happens when the Doxe becomes a crusader.

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

We conclude our investigation into the life of historian Anna Comnena. This week, we look at what The Alexiad is like as a book of history, and we discuss her alleged plot to overthrow her brother and take the crown for herself. Did that really happen, or is it pure slander?

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

We’ve quoted at length from The Alexiad in the past few narrative episodes. But who was its author, Anna Comnena, and how did she come to write this 500-page history? We look into the life of this extraordinarily talented polymath to understand more about the background to one of the most important contemporary historical sources for the era that we’ve recently been talking about. And we look at some of the obstacles that she faced as a woman working in a world that was dominated by men.

The book by Professor Leonora Neville that we mention during these episodes is "Anna Komnene: The life and work of a medieval historian", first published in 2016.

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