ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The genesis of this project traces back to a passing conversation I had
with Julian Deahl in early 2008 about the need for a comprehensive but
accessible single volume history of early modern Venice. At the time, we
envisioned a volume of twenty chapters and perhaps 500 pages, to be pub-
lished in early 2012. As this book’s heft and publication date suggest, the
project quickly took on a life of its own. While there has been the inevi-
table occasional bump in the road, the experience of collaborating with
colleagues whose work I have long admired, and who have become friends
over the course of this undertaking, has been a great pleasure for me. I
am grateful to all the contributors who kindly agreed to participate in this
project, despite their very busy schedules. Thanks also to Julian Deahl for
his experienced and steady hand in guiding this volume to publication.
As editor, from the outset one of my primary objectives was to illus-
trate the broad scope and richness of Venetian studies today by bringing
together an international team of the top scholars in the field. Making
their work—which was composed in French, Italian and German—acces-
sible to English language readers would not have been possible without
the meticulous work of an able group of translators: Sara Russell, Emlyn
Eisenbach, Catherine Framm, Dennis Meyer, Christian Kemp, and espe-
cially the incomparable Brett Auerbach-Lynn. I am also grateful to Daryl
Lee for his assistance with a particularly thorny translation, and to Shane
Strate for his invaluable editorial advice. Aileen Christensen, Kaitlin Berg-
gren and Spencer Orton, all undergraduates at Brigham Young University,
provided assistance in many matters both large and small. Christopher
Robinson prepared the maps and Juleen Eichinger courageously brought
discipline to the volume’s disparate voices and styles.
The publication of this volume was made possible by a very generous
grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. At Brigham Young
University, the Center for the Study of Europe, and the History Depart-
ment provided financial and logistical assistance that was essential to the
completion of the project. Special thanks are also due to Julie Radle and
Don Harreld at BYU for their support.
When this project was first launched, Giuseppe Del Torre, the noted
political historian of Venice at the Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, gen-
erously agreed to author the critical chapter on early modern Venetian