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Book Review: Venice Triumphant: The Horizons of a Myth

well as on the evolution of its port system with its infrastructures from the early twelfth century on, is thoroughly examined. The port system included not only two ports at Pisa but also from the 1160s the natural ports along the southern Tuscan coast, the Tuscan Archipelago and on the major islands of Corsica and Sardinia. These are all discussed in detail. Pisa's expansion in this region became intense and monopolistic from the twelfth century. The author emphasizes that the development of the port system at Pisa was not casual but was instead a product of a well-conceived plan. Pisa was able to exploit its surrounding geography and become a city open to the sea. Yet Busch ignores important related issues regarding efforts to avoid the silting of natural ports and to tum them into artificial harbours. She concludes this chapter by summarizing the similarities and differences between the development and function of the ports and port systems along the Catalonian and Tuscan littorals and between their morphological and geographical features. The next chapter yields very valuable information regarding the political and commercial situation in the Western Mediterranean at the time. Busch shows how relations developed between the crown of Aragon and Pisa within the context of conflicts over mercantile and naval hegemony in the Western Mediterranean led mainly by Genoa. The author examines Pisa's interests in the Western Mediterranean and how these contributed to the weakening of its relations with Catalonia, at least in comparison with Genoa, which now enjoyed a strong position in Catalonia. In the final chapter, the author presents her conclusions. She convincingly claims that geomorphology, geography and political geography are at least as relevant to historical analysis as such elements as political, economic and social factors in shaping the conditions that led to the growth and success ofport cities and port systems. Busch also refers to Genoa and Ragusa, a port in the Eastern Mediterranean, to support her point further. Her claim, however, that historians tend to be blind to the 'historical richness of interdisciplinary research and that they tend to deem geography to have little or no influence, does not hold true, at least in my own studies, which Busch has ignored. These works, which deal with ports in the Eastern Mediterranean between the sixth century CE and 1500, also employ an interdisciplinary approach. They show that the development ofcoastal settlements into ports, port towns and international maritime centres did not always depend on their location with respect to a hinterland or the presence of river access to the interior, but instead were due mainly to their location in relation to trunk routes. These studies also emphasize the role of human effort, notwithstanding their constant lack ofsuccess, in constructing and maintaining artificial medieval ports. Nevertheless, by virtue of its approach and the information provided by each ofthe disciplines she uses, Busch's thorough study ofthe northern section of the Medieval Western Mediterranean is priceless.