Major Dates in Venetian History

• 421: Noon, March 25th. The traditional date of the foundation of Venice.
  
• 598: Torcello founded.
  
• 697: The first 'doge' of Venice, Paoluccio Anafesto, is elected.
  
• 828: The body of Saint Mark is stolen from Alexandria and transferred to Venice.
  
• 830-6: The first church of St. Mark is built. 
• 1063: Work begins on the building of the Basilica San Marco, the third church to be built on the site.
  
• 1171: Venice is officially divided into six districts (sestieri) to facilitate the collection of taxes. 
• 1203/4: Venice joins the fourth crusade and plays a major role in the sacking of Constantinople. 
• 1254: Birth of Marco Polo (d.1324).
• 1271: Marco Polo, his father and his uncle, set off for Asia. They will be away for twenty-four years.
• 1284/5: The Mint is founded and the first gold ducat, or zecchino, is issued.
  
• 1297: The Serrata. Membership of the Great Council is closed to non-patricians.
• 1298: While in prison in Genoa, Marco Polo narrates his travels in China to Rustichello da Pisa. 
  
• 1310: The rebellion of Baiamonte Tiepolo fails and the Council of Ten is created. 
  
• 1348: The plague is introdcued from the Orient.
• 1354: Execution of Doge Marino Falier. 
  
• 1380: The long war between Venice and Genoa ends with a Venetian victory.
  
• 1381: Venice's population approaches 200,000. 
• 1430: Birth of Giovanni Bellini (d.1516). 
• 1451: Venice becomes a patriachate. The first patriarch is Lorenzo Giustinian. 
• 1453: The fall of Constantinople to the Turks.
  
• 1465 (?): Birth of Vittore Carpaccio (d. 1525/6). 
• 1478: Birth of Giorgione (d. 1510).
• 1489: Cyprus is ceded to Venice by Caterina Cornaro. 
  
• 1495: The publisher, Aldus Manutius, sets up a printing press in the city. 
  
• 1509: Venetian forces defeated by the League of Cambrai at the Battle of Agnadello. 
  
• 1516: The Jewish Ghetto is established in the sestiere of Cannaregio. 
  
• 1518: Birth of Tintoretto (d.1594).
  
• 1527: In the wake of the Sack of Rome, the Florentine sculptor and architect, Jacopo Sansovino, arrives in Venice. 
  
• 1570: Venice loses Cyprus to the Turks. 
  
• 1571: Battle of Lepanto. Resounding naval victory against the Turks. 
• 1575/7: Plague kills in the region of 50,000 people, almost a third of the population. One of the victims was Titian (1576).
  
• 1606/7: The Interdict. The Republic of Venice and its citizens are excommunicated by Pope Paul V. 
  
• 1630/1: Plague kills an estimated 46,000 inhabitants out of a population of 140,000.
  
• 1637: The world's first public opera house is set up in Venice. 
  
• 1645-69: War of Candia (Crete) between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Venice loses Crete.
  
• 1678: Birth of Antonio Vivaldi (d.1741).
  
• 1696: Birth of Giambattista Tiepolo (d.1770).
  
• 1697: Birth of Canaletto (d.1768).
  
• 1718: Congress of Passarowitz marks the end of Venetian power in the eastern Mediterranean. Venice is forced to cede control of the Morea (the Peloponnese peninsula) to the Turks. 
• 1725: Birth of Casanova (d.1798).
  
• 1774: The Ridotto, the greatest gambling house in Venice, is closed down by public order.
  
• 1797: On May 12th, Ludovico Manin, the last Doge, hands the city of Venice to Napoleon. The Venetian Republic ceases to exist. 
• 1798: Venice is ceded to the Austrians.
  
• 1805: Napoleon defeats the Austrians and reclaims Venice.
  
• 1814: Venice is returned to Austria at the Congress of Vienna.
  
• 1841-46: Railway causeway built.
  
• 1848/9: The Venetians oust their city from Austrian control and re-establish the Republic of Venice. In August, 1849, the Austrians reoccupy Venice, bringing to an end the short-lived republic. 
  
• 1866: On October 22nd a plebiscite is held in the Veneto regarding the province's affiliation. On November 7th Venice becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy. 
  
• 1895: The first international art exhibition is organised. Held every two years, the exhibition soon becomes known as the 'Biennale'. 
  
• 1902: July 14th. Collapse of the Campanile di San Marco.
  
• 1931-33: Road causeway built.
  
• 1960: Marco Polo airport built.
  
• 1966: Worst flood in Venice's history. 
• 1989: Pink Floyd concert. 200,000 fans invade and damage the city. 
• 1996: The Teatro La Fenice burns down.