The City-States of the Italian Peninsula 47

This miniature depicts the Piazzetta of the Republic of Venice, with all the activity

of a major Adriatic port.

East Indies and the Far East. Venice, in particular, had been a major center
of trade and transcultural exchange between the Christian West and Mus­
lim East since the eighth century. Venice linked sea routes with the long
overland routes to Constantinople through the desolate mountains of the
Balkans. Merchants hedged their bets on whether their shipments would fall
victim to the sudden Mediterranean storms, to roving pirates, or to some
other mishap on the overland route through Central Asia. The merchants
carried fine woolens and linen from the Italian peninsula and northern Eu­
rope, as well as metals, to the East. They returned with cotton, silk, and,
above all, spices, including pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and sugar,
which arrived via Alexandria or Constantinople from the East Indies, luxury
goods to awaken the palates of wealthy Europeans. Merchants from both
East and West used towns in Crimea, a peninsula extending into the north­
ern Black Sea, as intermediary points for trade from Muscovy, Persia, India,
and China (see Map 2.1).
Merchant capitalism eroded the power of the nobility by expanding
the ranks and influence of townsmen. The wealth and status of urban
merchants—although nobles also engaged in trade—allowed them to