During the 1400s, Venice had created defences against the recurring outbreaks of the plague, and they kept Venice mostly safe for the following centuries. Mostly safe.

Without a cure for the plague, the only way forward was prevention, and during the 1400s, Venice figured out how to govern the plague.

The plague arrived in Venice in 1348, but what is the plague, and how did our ancestors understand it?

Proper ball games for decent people? Not all ball games are equal; some are more equal than others.

The Venetians played a ball game (or maybe two different) which was called football, or kicking ball, but it was more rugby-ish, but also not really.

How a fun game of knightly courtship turned into bloody war, and, last but not least, white chicken.

Noble, citizen, commoner, forestier, Jew, and what not. All people were absolutely not equal in the Republic of Venice.

The story of Bianca Cappello tells us something about the institutions of the Republic of Venice, the agility of its government, and of early modern diplomacy.

Bianca Cappello had eloped to Florence with her lover, whom she soon after married. She then became the mistress of the prince regent of the Duchy of Florence. Her husband took a mistress of his own, but her family murdered him on Blanca's doorstep. Does all that sound bad? Well, it's getting worse.

In 1563, a young Venetian noblewoman eloped with her lover, never to come back to Venice again. She went on to have an eventful, and highly unusual life, in Florence.