INTRODUCTION

VENETIAN GLASS

glass in Egypt and Rome  -   on the nature and origin of early glass working in Venice  -   “marine” glass and “forest” glass  -   their development, composition, and relative qualities  -   Venetian glass  -   raw materials  -   Murano


EUROPE AND ASIA

ANCIENT WORLD

Herodotus  -   his map of the world  -   the Greco-Persian wars  -   the Macedonian Empire and the exploration of the Indus  -   Rome and China  -   the “Silk Road”  -   commodities traded  -   the Eurasian Steppe Route and the Spice Route

ISLAM AND THE CRUSADES

the expansion of Islam  -   its impact on Asian trade  -   the Crusades and the Christian States in the Levant  -   Nestorianism  -   the Italian Maritime Republics  -   their trade in the East  -   Asian lore: Gog and Magog, mythological creatures, Prester John  -   TO maps  -   the decline of commercial knowledge


MARCO POLO

THE MONGOLS

origins and conquests  -   the pax mongolica  -   early diplomatic missions: Ascelin di Lombardia, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Andrea del Langumel, William of Rùbrik and Bartolomeo da Cremona  -   internal conflicts and the division of the empire

THE POLO FAMILY

Niccolò and Maffeo Polo  -   their travels  -   Marco Polo  -   “The Wonders of the World”  -   its origin, content, and significance


VENICE AND
THE ISLAMIC INFLUENCE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

optics  -   pharmaceuticals  -   soap  -   rag paper  -   dyes

ARCHITECTURE

the ogee arch  -   Venetian Gothic  -   polichromy  -   domes and roofline crenelations  -   tesselation  -   relief sculpture