This is an Italian jacquard woven wall tapestry. The artwork comes from an 18th century painting by Francesco Guardi detailing merchants waiting for arrival of the ship at port. The city of Venice originated as a collection of lagoon communities banded together for mutual defense from the Lombards, Huns, and other invading peoples as the power of the Western Roman Empire dwindled in northern Italy. This tapestry gives us a historical view of the harbor of the ancient city.