After last week's adventures with Patriarch Poppo, we go back to look at what was happening inside Venice. Neither a fully fledged hereditary state nor a recognisable Republic, the city's future political structures could go in either direction. But as internal divisions abound and external pressures multiply, the city emerges from the crucible of the 1020s with a clearer view of her future political direction, and the stage is set for the trailblazing Republic that she will become.

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Venice was moving confidently into the new millennium when we last checked in on her. But with a powerful and resurgent Holy Roman Empire on her doorstep, danger lurks around every corner. When the ambitious and amusingly named Patriarch Poppo turns up just across the border in Friuli, the city's ongoing independence hangs by a thread, as the unresolved conflict between the rival Archbishoprics of Aquileia and Grado descends into murder, rape, and pillage.

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Casanova's reputation is often more of a hindrance than a help in understanding the character of the man himself. In the third part of our series marking the 300th anniversary of the birth of Venice's most notorious son, we look at his formative teenage years. Giacomo is back in his home city, with minimal parental supervision. The highs and lows of his experiences, and the habits and attitudes that he picks up from the people he interacts with, will be crucial influences on the adult that he later becomes. 

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We've reached the year 1000 in our story, so it's time to take a breath and think about what sort of society Venice is right now. The traces of the city's future stone-and-marble elegance are there, but it's a very different place from the Venice that we know and love today. What were their houses like? Where did their food and drinking water come from? And why did they keep bringing holy relics back home with them from their travels?

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We reached the first millennium in the last episode, and that means that it's time to look back at the Doges of the past 100 years and think about how we rate them. We've got three guys with the same name; four guys who leave office to become monks (including one actual Saint), and an extremely valuable Golden Bull. Who will come out as our favourite? Will it be Inferno Doge? Pirate-slaying Doge? Nothing-to-see-here Doge? Or one of the many Monk Doges? Tune in and find out.

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Our recommended companion listening this week is the History of the Germans podcast: https://historyofthegermans.com/

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As the new millennium dawns, the Venetians take a decisive step that will be commemorated for the next 800 years in the increasingly elaborate and spectacular Marriage to the Sea ceremony. The episode also paves the way for the city to become the recognised Queen of the Adriatic -- a waterway that she would dominate so completely that foreign mapmakers referred to it as the “Gulf of Venice”. And the Venetians didn’t have to throw tantrums or hissy fits to force anyone to use that name.

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Young Giacomo Casanova has been sent away to Padova at the age of 9 to cure his nosebleeds and get an education. He soon starts enjoying his schooling, and finds himself particularly fascinated by his teacher’s teenage sister, Bettina. What are these strange new emotions that he feels for her? And how will he feel when an older boy takes an interest in her? Stand by for an ogress, a rat-infested bedroom, a brilliant quip in Latin, an accidental romantic intrigue with a pair of knitted socks, and a series of failed exorcisms.

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The Venice blogs that we recommended in the show were:

https://www.theveniceinsider.com/

https://seductivevenice.wordpress.com/

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When you're walking a political tightrope you need strong nerves, good judgement, and sometimes a bit of luck. But with the resurgent Holy Roman Empire on her doorstep, Venice is politically divided between those who want to cosy up to their large and acquisitive neighbour, and those who want to keep a safe distance. The city's independence is on the line as the millennium approaches. Find out how she handles Emperor Otto's uncomfortably close attentions.

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On a hot August afternoon in 976, the city of Venice burst into flames, both politically and literally. After spending most of the century trying to steer a delicate but serene course between the competing interests of her much larger friends, neighbours, and rivals, the young republic could no longer contain its political tensions. If cleansing by fire was the only way to cure the sickness at the heart of the body politic, then let the conflagration rip. 

Get ready for a boatload of identically named all-action Doges, interspersed with a couple of peaceful monk-like ones, and a return to the bad old days of violent regime change.

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We begin our investigation into the life of the original Casanova -- a famous name whose popular reputation tends to obscure the much more interesting man who lies underneath. We start by looking at his earliest memories, and his relationship with his parents. We've got a mysterious witch, an alleged indiscretion by the Prince of Wales, copious nosebleeds, and much more.

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Music used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org