ABSTRACT
In the first instance, when the Normans acted against the Greeks in southern Italy, the Venetians were largely absent. That is why, at this moment, the presence of the Greek armies and their final resistance in Puglia are scarcely recorded in the chronicles. Once the Normans had moved their anti-Byzantine stance from southern Italy towards the Balkans, however, the Byzantines began to appear much more prominently in the Venetian texts, since the interests of Venice were now directly threatened. The outcomes of the confrontations with the Normans are as follows. First, under D. Selvo, at least indirectly about a victory over the Normans, the good behaviour of the Venetian fleet and its usefulness to the emperor is usually commented on.32. In other cases, the sources document the fear of Robert Guiscard vis-a-vis the Venetian mobilisation as the reason that prompted him to conclude peace with the emperor.
