E X T E n S i o n THE SERENISSIMA Shakespeare used Sicily and various italian towns (Florence, milan) as settings for his plays, but he seems to have taken a fancy forveneto, a region in the north-east of italy where venice,verona and padua are located. venice was traditionally the lioness of the seas , a role also england had acquired in the course of the 16th century, with the support for voyages and naval power given by Henry viii and most of all by Queen elizabeth i, the great monarchs of the tudor dynasty. venice was a cosmopolitan city full of life, a centre of culture, art and entertainment. it had suffered for a long time before becoming a mercantile power in the 12th century. Defended by the Byzantines in ravenna against the lombards and the Franks, venice gradually acquired independence and in 692 elected its first doge, from the latin word dux or leader.the city grew as a result of its increasing trade and gained1 naval supremacy in the Adriatic, after defeating2 the Dalmatian pirates (11th century). over the next centuries, venice consolidated its government by backing up the Duke with councillors and a Senate. With the transport of the crusaders (4th crusade, 1202-1204) venice obtained great economic advantages and after the fall of constantinople was able to establish monopolies in the levant expanding its commercial power. inevitably, venice came into conflict with genoa (1261-1381), but when that republic declined, the Serenissima remained the undisputed mistress of the mediterranean. 1. gained: olstained. 2. defeating: winning over. 57