The New Jersey State Library presents "Venice from the Water up"

On Friday, Jan. 13, from noon to 1 p.m., the New Jersey State Library will present a program by 20th century French and Italian history specialist, Alex Lang entitled, Venice from the Water up: A History of the City of Canals through Photographs.

The program will take place in the 2nd Level Reading Room of the State Library, 185 West State Street, Trenton, and will point out the richness and complex history of the Italian city. Some of the questions to be answered during the program are:

• Why was a swampy lagoon chosen as a site for a city?
• How did such an inhospitable place produce one of the most prosperous and powerful European states?
• How did people live and work in such a unique environment?
• How did its institutions last for centuries?

Lang has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Rutgers University and a master’s in Modern History from Durham University in the United Kingdom. He is now working on a PhD in Modern History at the University of Texas at Austin.

The program is free, but an RSVP is appreciated:  cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.