This article focuses on how, in a time of important political changes, narratives concerning Venice and its mainland state could be constructed and transformed. As case study, three geographical descriptions by the Venetian patrician Marin Sanudo (1466–1536) are analyzed: Itinerarium Marini Sanuti Leonardi filij patricij Veneti cum syndicis Terre Firme, De origine, situ et magistratibus urbis Venetae, and Descriptione de la patria de Friul. Several interwoven themes are treated: the ways Sanudo justified Venice’s rule over a large territory on the Italian mainland, his perception of the links between capital and mainland territory, and his view on the strength of these links. I show that the way Sanudo constructed an image of the Venetian state had its own internal dynamics. As shown in the chronological development present in Sanudo’s works, his representation of the Venetian state is partly a reaction to the political circumstances, but not a direct reflection of them. Cet article se concentre sur la façon dont, dans une période d’importants changements politiques, les récits concernant Venise et son état sur le continent pouvaient être construits et transformés. Trois descriptions géographiques du patricien vénitien Marin Sanudo (1466-1536) sont analysées et servent d’analyse de cas : Itinerarium Marini Sanuti Leonardi filij patricij Veneti cum syndicis Terre Firme, De origine, situ et magistratibus urbis Venetae, et Descriptione de la patria de Friul. Plusieurs thèmes entremêlés sont abordés : la façon dont Sanudo justifie le règne de Venise sur un large territoire de l’Italie continentale, sa perception des liens entre capitale et territoire continental ainsi que son opinion sur la force de ces liens. Je montre que sa construction d’une image de l’état vénitien possède sa propre dynamique interne. Tel que le montre le développement chronologique présent dans les écrits de Sanudo, sa représentation de l’état vénitien est en partie une réaction aux circonstances politiques, mais n’en est pas un reflet direct.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Toffolo, S., (2025), "Constructing a Mainland State in Literature: Perceptions of Venice and Its Terraferma in Marin Sanudo’s Geographical Descriptions", HSSCommons: (DOI: )

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1. Renaissance and Reformation

Original publication: Toffolo, Sandra. "Constructing a Mainland State in Literature: Perceptions of Venice and Its Terraferma in Marin Sanudo’s Geographical Descriptions." Renaissance and Reformation 37 (1): 2014. 5-30. DOI: 10.33137/rr.v37i1.21280. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Iter Canada / Renaissance and Reformation. Copyright © the author(s). Their work is distributed by Renaissance and Reformation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For details, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.