Book tip:

I really enjoyed reading "City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas", which taught me that the main thing Venice had going for it was controlling much of the Silk Road trade until Vasco da Gama doomed it in 1498.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812980220/

I recently returned from a trip to Venice. I highly recommend visiting in late November/December as the atmosphere is very different from the more crowded times of year. Locals will tell you it's busy all year round now, but low season still has a lot of appeal.

Before visiting I ready City of Fortune [1] for a high level overview of Venetian history and it is a truly enthralling read that covers most of Venice's timeline. I also came across several articles by Ioanna Iordanou.

I would be interested in better understanding what life was like in Venice from 1800 to the present day, but I haven't found much contemporary research on the Venetian economy and society in that time, including the run up to the Fall of the Republic of Venice.

1: https://www.amazon.com/City-Fortune-Venice-Ruled-Seas/dp/081...