The Other Face of the Amphibious City. A city born of legend, Venice built its identity and destiny by tenaciously manipulating history. This was neither the result of a casual abuse nor of the initiative of individuals, but of a cultural orientation pursued with determination from the very beginning—first by the Dogado, then by the Commune Veneciarum, and then by the Republic that proclaimed itself Serenissima in 1467: it succeeded, and managed to make its true origins forgotten, because Venice was a Republic founded on war.
Fourth expanded edition, second English edition.