Venice, Gateway To The East

Venice’s long engagement with the Ottoman Empire stands at the heart of its role as a Mediterranean power. From the fifteenth century onward, the Republic developed a complex and enduring relationship with the Ottomans—marked by diplomacy and rivalry, commerce and conflict, mutual dependence and deep cultural exchange. As one of the few European states to maintain continuous contact with the Sublime Porte, Venice became a crucial intermediary between the Ottoman world and the West.
In this authoritative study, Maria Pia Pedani traces the evolution of these relations within the broader context of Venice’s interactions with the Muslim world. Drawing on rich archival sources, she brings to life the diplomats, merchants, dragomans, slaves, converts, and spies who moved between Istanbul and Venice, shaping how each side understood the other. The result is a vivid account of a shared history that connected two great Mediterranean powers across political, economic, and cultural boundaries.
Maria Pia Pedani (1952-2019) was a prominent Italian historian of Ottoman-Venetian relations, specializing in archival research on early modern diplomacy. After two decades at the Venetian State Archives, she taught at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Her works include In nome del Gran Signore (1994), and I “Documenti Turchi” dell’Archivio di Stato di Venezia (1994), as well as her Inventory of the Lettere e Scritture Turchesche in the Venetian State Archives (2010)