I just picked up Venetia from Passport Games: http://passportgamestudios.com/game/venetia/
Looks like an interesting strategy game, something different from my usual. Looking forward to it.
Just because of the time lag since it was originally released, I wonder if this might be inspired by Kalypso's computer game, Rise of Venice?
I don't know, but my initial reaction is no. There are several boardgames out there about Venice in various forms - another game I bought this weekend is Masters of Venice, a trading game. I think it's a subject area that seems to have a relatively small, but enthusiastic crowd.