Venetia

A historical region of northeast Italy between the Po River and the Alps. Named after the Veneti, a people who settled the area c. 1000 B.C., it was joined with Istria by Augustus to form a separate province. The area was devastated by the Huns in the 5th century, but its towns later became powerful communes, with Venice becoming dominant by the 15th century. It passed to Austria in 1797 and to Italy in 1866.