069. The Lottery Winner
“The great Doge of Venice, Giacomo Tiepolo, was brave, wise and energetic. He was a winner. Before he became Doge, he had obtained victories over his enemies everywhere he went. And once he was the Do...
17 Aug 50min
068. The Bloody Tyrant
Ezzelino da Romano is remembered in the mythology of north-eastern Italy as a cruel and vicious ruler who inflicted inhuman punishments on his enemies. And maybe he was. But the more that you look at ...
10 Aug 38min
067. The Wonder of the World
In 1232, Venice received a visit from a short, ginger-haired man in his late 30s. But this was no ordinary visitor. This was the most powerful man in the known world; the convenor of the most brillian...
3 Aug 32min
066. Beat It
In the autumn of 1260, a new fashion arrived in Venice from the continental European mainland. It had started just a few months earlier in the central Italian city of Perugia, and somehow it had caugh...
24 Jul 37min
Art and Culture 09. The Artisans of Venice
We're joined by Monica Cesarato this week to discuss the artisan tradition in the city of Venice. In our main narrative, we're reaching the mid-13th century, when dozens of professional guilds start t...
16 Jul 1h 10min
065. The Peace-Loving Doge of Many Wars
Today we’re looking at the life of Doge Pietro Ziani – the man who picked up the baton after the death of Enrico Dandolo and presided over the chaotic situation that we’ve been narrating over the past...
10 Jul 47min
064. Rivals
This week we're looking around the Mediterranean at the international political events that provide the wider context to the stories that we’ve been telling lately. We’ll be travelling to Genoa, Sicil...
2 Jul 37min
063. The Castle of Love
Easter 1214. In Treviso, about 20 miles north of Venice, the city’s governors have decided to set up a week-long “court of solace and mirth”. There will be dancing and jousting, feasting and fine fool...
25 Jun 47min
