History of the Republic of Venice of the Sea" ceremony was established in this period. Orseolo died in 1008. Venice's control over the Adriatic was strengthened by an expedition by Pietro's son Ottone in 1017, by which time Venice had assumed a key role in balancing power between the Byzantine and Holy Roman Empires. During the long Investiture Controversy, an 11th-century dispute between Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over who would control appointments of church officials, Venice remained neutral, and this caused some attrition of support from the Popes. Doge Domenico Selvo intervened in the war between the Normans of Apulia and
Gulf of La Spezia Gulf of La Spezia The Gulf of La Spezia (Italian: "Golfo della Spezia" or "Golfo dei poeti") is a body of water on the north-western coast of Italy and part of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, specifically of Ligurian Sea. It measures some 4.5 (length) by 3-3.5 (width) kilometers. The gulf is named for the Italian city of La Spezia, located at its middle point, which is also the main military and cargo port in the gulf, including several arsenals of the Italian Marina Militare. At the gulf extremities are the two tourist resorts of Lerici (western) and Porto Venere (eastern).