Complete honesty - I'm wanting to start working on planning a fiction based in Venice when it was at the height of its power. Being the history nerd I am I want anything I put to be accurate to how it really. So I'm looking for a reliable source on any and all things Venice history. The rise and fall. Daily life. Politics. Anything I can read. Any suggestions?
If this is the wrong subreddit I'm sorry.
The History of Venice by good old John Julius Norwich is a pretty good gateway drug into venetian history.
However, I'd point out that the Venetians never considered themselves an empire. I actually discusses that in this thread which you might be interested in.
“City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas” by Rodger Crowley is a good one!