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Venice's nickname has always been La Serenissima, the most serene, which is most ironic because at one time or another she was at war with just about everyone in the neighborhood.

Goths, Longobards, Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Holy Roman emperors, Ottoman sultans, Hungarians, Florentines Pisans, Genoese, French, Spanish - even the Pope himself. And lets not leave out those ever pesky pirates on the Dalmatian coast. And this is a partial list.

To be fair, Venice neither initiated nor desired many of these hostilities. They just wanted to be the biggest and best trade link between east and west. And they were very successful at it - and with success comes the jealousy of others.

Perhaps the only serenity the doges ever got was when they were laid to rest.