# 16th Century Venice - Help?



## misaki (Feb 17, 2013)

I am currently interested in writing a novel set in 16th Century Venice, and am particularly interested to find information about the history of this period, the culture and most importantly, their beliefs in religion and witchcraft (the latter is something I would like to focus on).

I however have no idea where to start my research. I've done the basic Google search but would love to go into more depth and into more credible sources. Does anyone have any pointers?

Thanks


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## Jess A (Feb 18, 2013)

Head on down to the library. I'm a university student so I have access to a lot of history books - if you know anybody who is a student, log onto their online library account (if allowed) and hit the university library. Otherwise try a general library. There are also history sources online (journals, primary sources such as stuff written in that period), but sometimes I find it's easy to start with a basic 'how did they live' book and then get into the nitty gritty details.

Through research you can then narrow down your questions to a finer point (start broad and narrow it down) - the more you research, the more you'll know exactly what you're after.


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## CupofJoe (Feb 18, 2013)

This is the time of Leonardo DV and Michaelangelo, the house of Borgia etc.
The power of the Papacy was on the rise..
An interesting time.


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## misaki (Feb 18, 2013)

Jess A said:


> Head on down to the library. I'm a university student so I have access to a lot of history books - if you know anybody who is a student, log onto their online library account (if allowed) and hit the university library. Otherwise try a general library. There are also history sources online (journals, primary sources such as stuff written in that period), but sometimes I find it's easy to start with a basic 'how did they live' book and then get into the nitty gritty details.
> 
> Through research you can then narrow down your questions to a finer point (start broad and narrow it down) - the more you research, the more you'll know exactly what you're after.



That's actually a very good point - I'm a university student too and completely forgot about the online library account! I had never ventured to the history section as I'm a science major (completely different topics, I know). Thanks for that!


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## Jess A (Feb 19, 2013)

misaki said:


> That's actually a very good point - I'm a university student too and completely forgot about the online library account! I had never ventured to the history section as I'm a science major (completely different topics, I know). Thanks for that!



Haha no worries!  I'm not a history major either but I always get books out there. It's awesome. They have some pretty cool things - plus the online journals are at your disposal, and online primary sources.


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## Alexandra (Feb 19, 2013)

misaki said:


> I however have no idea where to start my research. I've done the basic Google search but would love to go into more depth and into more credible sources. Does anyone have any pointers? Thanks



Once you've found a couple of books you like remember, bibliographies are your friends.


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