1 The doge’s palace, the Molo and the Basin of St Mark, with the line of sheltering lidi on the horizon

2 The capture of Constantinople in 1204, an iconic moment in Venetian history, as depicted by Tintoretto nearly 400 years later.

3 Departure: passengers prepare to board high-sided cogs, the bulk carriers of Venetian trade.

4 Return: fast, sleek and very low, a Venetian war galley pulls into port. The galeotti furl its sails.

5 The Senza. The doge boards the Bucintoro. The Basin of St Mark is a hubbub of ships and festive trade.

6 Venice, the golden city. The horses of Constantinople are on proud display. Merchants land produce, buy and sell. Marco Polo departs by ship for distant lands, portrayed at the bottom of the picture.

7 The gateway of the arsenal, the ‘Forge of War’

8 Arsenal carpenters fashion keels and masts, and plank out ships. Finished hulls are dry stored in sheds behind.

9 Possessions of the Stato da Mar. Rovigno (Rovinj, Croatia), a miniature replica of the mother city, held for 500 years.

10 Possessions of the Stato da Mar. the fortress of Modon (Methoni, southern Greece), the priceless ‘Eye’ of the Republic.

11 The sea fortress at Candia (Heraklion) on Crete, guarding its harbour

12 The lion of St Mark, the badge of empire, on the sea walls of Famagusta, Cyprus

13 The exotic orient: the reception of the Venetian ambassador by the Mamluk governor at Damascus

14 The battle of Zonchio: the ships of Loredan and d’Armer grapple with the huge Ottoman vessel (centre), just as flames start to engulf them all.