Agreed, That is exactly what I was thinking. In the eyes of a Layman, Venice as a civilization is ridiculous...
Personally, I'd love to see an Italian Civ
i think there are too many 1800s leaders already so i'd prefer cosimo de medici over garibaldi, but then that puts the emphasis on florence over venice. still, florence were an economic and cultural powerhouse
I'd be fine with that. Just have capital be Venice or Florence or another city state. No need to add confusion by having two Romes. (Or another idea is Rome and Roma.)
I think Italy is quite likely as a civ now and I'm okay with that.
Let's think about their UU/UA/UB:
Leader: Casimo or Lorenzo Medici
UA: Somethin that improves culture, maybe more artists
UU: Genoese Crossbowman( more durable crossbowman)
UB: Arsenal (replaces harbour, bonus exp for ships and improved trade)
Capitol: Florence