Nineteenth-century historians and the Venetian Archivio di Stato: memory and rhythms of historical research

Laven, David

Abstract

This essay examines the rôle of the Venetian state archives in fashioning historiographical trends and in shaping ideas of Venetian identity during the hundred years that followed the fall of the Napoleonic empire. I argue not only that the archives played a key part in the development of modern ‘scientific history’ , but also that the growing recognition of the importance of long engagement with archival sources was significant in obliging foreign scholars to reside in Venice, often ‘Venetianising’ them in the process. The archives also became a focus of Venetian patriotic pride, a depository of memory and myth, and a statement both of Venice’s former glories, and of the city’s modern significance to the historical profession. The essay then turns to questions of the periodisation of Venetian history, and rhythms of publication of historical texts. In particular it highlights the importance of Romanin’s Storia documentata in shaping both Venetian identity and dictating the path of later historiography, arguing that even those who eschewed engagement with archival research felt obliged for decades to engage with a book that put such research at the very centre of the writing of history and the construction of Venetian identity.

Citation

Laven, D. (2015). Nineteenth-century historians and the Venetian Archivio di Stato: memory and rhythms of historical research. STORIA DELLA STORIOGRAFIA, 68(2), 89-106. doi:10.1400/240641

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 8, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Dec 3, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 3, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jan 18, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 29, 2019
• Print ISSN: 0392-8926
• Publisher: Fabrizio Serra editore
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 68
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 89-106
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1400/240641
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1114327
• Publisher URL: http://digital.casalini.it/10.1400/240641