A Tale of Three Cities

After a brief recall of Italian history from late antiquity to 750, this chapter provides a city-by-city history from the end of the Exarchate to 1000. The history of Rome follows the Lombard crises and the end of Byzantine rule, Frankish/Carolingian domination, the events of the Kingdom of Italy, aristocratic rule, and the attempted Ottonian control over the city. Ravenna’s three narrative strands are the aftermath of the autocephaly conflict, the anti-papal policies of most archbishops throughout the Byzantine then Carolingian period, and lastly the renewed prestige of the city under the Ottonian emperors. For Venice, the narrative follows the origins (imagined and probable) of the city, its succession of ducal families, and its attempt always to create a balance between its official Byzantine dependence and its grounding in the north Adriatic space