Une Venise impériale (1895-1945)

Abstract

In 1895-1945 Venice was reborn not only under the auspices of tourism, but also of industrialism and imperialism. A network of investors founded monopolistic companies, relying on political and State connections, on nationalism, urban and industrial expansionism. A colonialist entrepreneur became a Fascist leader and accumulated an extraordinary power, with an impact on the city and its image. Nationalism made Venice one of the centers of anti-Austrian and anti-Slavic Adriatic claims, processing imperial rites and myths. The elites united to locally manage modernization in a hierarchical and paternalistic way, supporting the projects of big business, making use of the commercial and naval power of the past as an element of integration and legitimation. Today’s urban order arose in such context, which presented both creative and violent predatory elements.