Early Modern Europe and Italy

2. 1453 – The capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, was sieged by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire.

3. 1492 – Italian born Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage.

4. 1493 - the end of the Reconquista, with the final expulsion of the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.

6. 1517 - The Reformation begins with Martin Luther nailing his ninety-five theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.

7. 1526 - Archduke Ferdinand of Austria gains the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary.

9. One of the most renowned types of Venetian glasses are made in Murano, known as Murano glass, which has been a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano for centuries. Located off the shore of Venice, Italy, Murano was a commercial port.

10. Murano’s reputation as a center for glassmaking was born when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and destruction to the city’s mostly wood buildings, ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano in 1291. Murano glass is still interwoven with Venetian glass.

11. By the end of the 16th century, three thousand of Murano island's seven thousand inhabitants were involved in some way in the glassmaking industry.

14. Genoan born Christopher Columbus intoduced tomatoes, peppers, chiles, corn and potatoes to Italian cuisine during his voyages.Italian cooking has been influenced by the Greek, Roman, Norman and Arab civilizations. The Romans introduced spices such as pepper and ginger. The Moors influence is the use of couscous, citrus fruits and almonds. The Greeks introduced wonderful seafood cooking. The Spaniards brought the Grenache grape.

16. ITALIAN CUISINE

17. EARLY MODERN ITALIAN CUISINE

18. MURANO GLASS

19. MURANO BEADS

20. VENETIAN GLASS