Showered with superlatives, Venice is doubtlessly an out- standing city, welcoming up to 15 million tourists annually. But despite the powerful magic it radiates, the city is confronted with seemingly overwhelming problems. Hence, detractors keep talking about a dying city. Is Venice then really the At- lantis of our time? The film published here first of all provides a survey of the most important geographic data of the lagoon city and looks into the question why more than one thousand years ago people settled in this inhospitable environment. The immense wealth of the former maritime republic can still be imagined when looking at the sumptuous architecture of many of its buildings. The DVD examines the various causes responsible for the rise of Venice to the dominating merchant power of the whole Mediterranean region during the Middle Ages. And why did the city lose its importance afterwards? As a special highlight of this DVD, we have included a film on Venice dating back to 1968. The two films are excellently suited for comparison, on the one hand with respect to the city‘s historic development, on the other hand in view of its respective treatment on film.
