Venice Setting - OOC stuff

VENICE

A few notes about the Most Serene Republic. Venice was founded way back when, by various refugees from Roman towns in the twilight of the age of Rome, who took refuge in the islands of the lagoon against the various marauders of the dark ages: the germans and the huns and the magyars and so on. Gradually, it became a city. It was an independent Republic for years (specifically, from the 9th century to the late 18th century), ruled by a Doge elected by an assembly drawn from the leading families (generally, who could trace their family history to early signatories on a document the name and significance of which I have forgotten). It was a dominant, wealthy naval power during the early middle ages and early renaissance, trading heavily in the eastern Mediterranean, occasionally establishing enclaves along the Balkan and Greek Coasts, and as far as the Black Sea.

Obviously, when the western powers 'discovered' new trade routes to the Americas and the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope, the importance of the Mediterranean trade-routes began to wane, but it remained independent until Napoleon. During the Napoleonic Wars it passed back and forth between the French under Napoleon and the Austrians (the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Venetians (like everyone in Europe, heh) participated in the Revolutions of 1848, and the city was briefly independent before the Austrians came to take it back.

Then the (recently united) Italians took it back from the Austrians in the late 1860s.

I do kinda imagine this setting as being later than the 1860s, but I like the idea of tension between the Austrians, British, and Italians (with possibilities of conspiracies any number of other oppressed nationals, like the hungarians or czechs or slavs or whatever) using the narrow streets and hidden coves and canals of Venice to hide and plot, too. In addition to our submarine explorers and Necromancers.

So I propose that:

the city did revolt against the Austrians and was briefly independent sometime in recent memory, though it has been pretty stable and in Austrian hands for a decadeish?
the Kingdom of Italy is mostly independent and united, excepting Veneto and maybe some other parts of Lombardy.
there is still a Doge and an Assembly, and the Venetian snobbery about the founding families.
the city and local region are still paying taxes and whatnot to the Austro-Hungarians, and Austrian soldiers (and secret police?) might take an interest in seditious activity.
I mean look at this dude: http://fymeninolduniforms.tumblr.com/post/16025261384/emperor-charles-i-the-last-monarch-of-the


and there are plenty of people who might be seditious. Italians, Slavs, Croats, Hungarians, alleged byzantine princes-in-exile, Serbians, Montenegrans, Bulgarians, Hungarians. Artists, communists, saboteurs, anarchists, poets, Turks, whomever. Engineers, Artificers, Alchemists, Merchants, Accountants.
British folks in plenty, being very Rule Brittania! Culturally more like the Austrians, but with some romantic sympathy maybe for the idea of a united Italy?
plus, in British literature of that era, Italy was sort of the Vegas of the 19th century.
annnd, tensions maybe between the Brits and the Austrians, too, since the Brits have all these romantic views about Italy.

This stuff really might never come up in our RP, but I kinda like having the Austrians to throw into things. They would mostly allow locals to administer the city, but you know.

ALSO RELIGION:

instead of Catholic/Protestant, I was thinking that Catholicism could be a goddess-focused religion. Not like Wicca, and still very Catholic. Just imagine the medieval Marian cults, but within the context of Catholicism - the all male clergy, allegedly celibate (married to the Goddess) with the saints and incense and Latin rites and maybe some ecstatic female religious orders but no female priests, and a big hierarchry lead by a hierophant.
while protestantism is pretty protestant still. Male god, male clergy, all spare and stale, having broken off from catholicism at some point, very Scientifically minded and suspicious of the convoluted idolatry of the Catholic goddess types.

Just some ideas. Any other thoughts/ideas, through them out here.