Christian Mathieu / Margrit Grabas: Zur Dekonstruktion eines „Ökomythos“ – Venedigs Gewässerpolitik in der Frühen Neuzeit und die Produktion eines Strukturproblems des venezianischen Herrschafts- und Wirtschaftsraums*

This article aims at deconstructing the myth of a far-sighted, sustainable Venetian environmental policy in Early Modern Times with respect to the dimension of economic consequences resulting from a project of river diversion decided on in 1488. At first, the article traces the tendency of glorifying Venetian environmental history which can be observed since 1966 at the latest. This tendency is interpreted as the very last metamorphosis of the so called “Myth of Venice”, i.e. the aristocratic narrative of legitimation which developed into a literary and historiographic topic after the downfall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. This “Myth of Venice” forced the creation of a social consensus – with respect to the maintenance of the lagoon – concerning river diversions as a reaction to a critical deterioration of Venetian environmental conditions by the end of the 15^th century. This consensus caused the hierarchization of the territory of the Republic of Venice at the expense of the Terraferma. Finally, the article clarifies how the hydrological measures undertaken in Early Modern Times cemented a problematic disintegration of the Venetian dominion and its economic area; in particular the article traces the obstruction of the implementation of irrigation techniques relevant to agrarian economy by the Venetian water policy.

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