Venice

1. #1The City of Venice.

   Keys: republic, Doge, Saint Mark.

   Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the region of Veneto. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are linked by 438 bridges. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC. The city was the capital of the Republic of Venice for almost a millennium, from 810 to 1797. It was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as an important centre of commerce—especially silk, grain, and spice, and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The then-city-state is considered to have been the first real international financial centre, emerging in the 9th century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 14th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. Venice is located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region. The city is situated on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by 438 bridges. The historic center of Venice is divided into six districts, or sestieri, which are named Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo, and Santa Croce. Venice sits atop alluvial silt washed into the sea by the rivers flowing eastward from the Alps across the Veneto plain, with the silt being stretched into long banks, or lidi, by the action of the current flowing around the head of the Adriatic Sea from east to west. Those fleeing barbarian invasions who found refuge on the sandy islands of Torcello, Iesolo, and Malamocco, in this coastal lagoon, learned to build by driving closely spaced piles consisting of the trunks of alder trees, a wood noted for its water resistance, into the mud and sand,[55][56] until they reached a much harder layer of compressed clay. Building foundations rested on plates of Istrian limestone placed on top of the piles.

2. #2The Most Serene Republic.

   Keys: Venice., Doge, Most Serene Republic

   The Republic of Venice, officially The Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the Dogado area (a territory currently comparable to the Metropolitan City of Venice), during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, the Peloponnese, a number of Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean. The islands of the Venetian Lagoon in the 7th century, after having experienced a period of substantial increase in population, were organized into Maritime Venice, a Byzantine duchy dependent on the Exarchate of Ravenna. With the fall of the Exarchate and the weakening of Byzantine power, the Duchy of Venice arose, led by a doge and established on the island of Rialto; it prospered from maritime trade with the Byzantine Empire and other eastern states. To safeguard the trade routes, between the 9th and 11th centuries the Duchy waged several wars, which ensured its complete dominion over the Adriatic. Owing to its participation in the Crusades, Venice increasingly penetrated into eastern markets and, between the 12th and 13th centuries, managed to extend its power into numerous eastern emporiums and commercial ports. The supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea led the Republic to the clash with Genoa, which lasted until the 14th century, when, after having risked complete collapse during the War of Chioggia (with the Genoese army and fleet in the lagoon for a long period), Venice quickly managed to recover from the territorial losses suffered with the Treaty of Turin of 1381 and begin expansion on the mainland. Venetian expansion, however, led to the coalition of the Habsburg monarchy, Spain and France in the League of Cambrai, which in 1509 defeated the Republic of Venice in the Battle of Agnadello. While maintaining most of its mainland possessions, Venice was defeated, and the attempt to expand the eastern dominions caused a long series of wars against the Ottoman Empire, which ended only in the 18th century with the Treaty of Passarowitz of 1718 and which caused the loss of all possessions in the Aegean. Although still a thriving cultural centre, the Republic of Venice was occupied by Napoleon's French troops and its territories were divided with the Habsburg monarchy following the ratification of the Treaty of Campo Formio. Throughout its history, the Republic of Venice was characterized by its political order. Inherited from the previous Byzantine administrative structures, its head of state was the doge, a position which became elective from the end of the 9th century. In addition to the doge, the administration of the Republic was directed by various assemblies: the Great Council, with legislative functions, which was supported by the Minor Council, the Council of Forty and the Council of Ten, responsible for judicial matters, and the Senate.

3. #3The Canals.

   Keys: Lagoon, floating city., Canals

   The classic Venetian boat is the gondola, (plural: gondole) although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies, or as traghetti[clarification needed] (sing.: traghetto) to cross the Grand Canal in lieu of a nearby bridge. The traghetti are operated by two oarsmen. Venice's small islands were enhanced during the Middle Ages by the dredging of soil to raise the marshy ground above the tides. The resulting canals encouraged the flourishing of a nautical culture which proved central to the economy of the city. Today those canals still provide the means for transport of goods and people within the city.

4. #4Traditions.

   Keys: Traditional, Venice., Tradition

   The Republic of Venice had numerous historical and folkloristic traditions of various kinds, some of which are still celebrated following its fall. In Venice, religious holidays were celebrated with extremely sumptuous processions directed towards St Mark's Basilica in which the Doge took part, preceded by the various government assemblies and the city's major schools. In addition to all the major Catholic holidays, the Feast of Saint Mark, which commemorates the city's patron saint, was also celebrated with equal pomp. During the year, masses were held in memory of some fundamental events in the Republic's history, such as the failure of the Tiepolo conspiracy or that hatched by the Doge Marino Faliero and others such as the Festa delle Marie to celebrate the power of Venice. One of the festivals of greatest political importance was the Festa della Sensa, celebrated on Ascension Day, which included a parade of boats led by the Bucentaur and the rite of the Marriage of the Sea which symbolized the maritime dominion of Venice. Among the profane festivals, one of the most important was the Carnival: celebrated for its entire duration, it included the major celebrations on Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday. In addition to dances and shows of various types, on the last Sunday of Carnival the bull hunt took place, an event similar to Spanish-style bullfighting. In addition to the Carnival, the Regatta was held, which like the other festivals included large celebrations and processions.

5. #5The Standard of Saint Mark.

   Keys: Lion, Venice., Flag, Saint Mark

   The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as The Banner or Standard of Saint Mark (Stendardo di San Marco), was the symbol of The Most Republic of Venice. Its main charge was the Lion of Saint Mark, symbolizing Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice.[1] A distinguishing feature of the flag is its six fringes, which were added to represent the original six sestiere of Venice. The fringes also serve to prevent damage being caused to the central section of the flag by wind. During times of peace, the Lion of Saint Mark was depicted alongside an open book. However, when the Republic was at war the Bible was replaced with the lion grasping an upright sword. During the corteo dogale (lit. 'procession of the doges'), four banners of Saint Mark with different background colours, white, purple, blue, and red, were carried, with the one in front representing the state of the republic at that time (at peace, in a truce, in an alliance, at war, respectively). When at war, the war version of the Lion of Saint Mark was used.

6. #6The Doge.constant

   Keys: Serenity., Doge, Your Excellency

   The Doge of Venice – in Venetian, doxe de Venexia – was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word doge derives from the Latin dux, meaning 'leader', and Venetian for 'duke', highest official of the republic of Venice for over 1,000 years. In Italian, the cognate is duce, one of National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini's titles. The title is also cognate to the English "duke", with a different meaning.

7. #7Selection of The Doge.

   Keys: senate., Election, council

   The Doge's prerogatives were not defined with precision. While the position was entrusted to members of the inner circle of powerful Venetian families, after several doges had associated a son with themselves in the ducal office, this tendency toward a hereditary monarchy was checked by a law that decreed that no doge had the right to associate any member of his family with himself in his office, nor to name his successor. After 1172 the election of the doge was entrusted to a committee of forty, who were chosen by four men selected from the Great Council of Venice, which was itself nominated annually by twelve persons. After a deadlocked tie at the election of 1229, the number of electors was increased from forty to forty-one. New regulations for the elections of the doge introduced in 1268 remained in force until the end of the republic in 1797. Their intention was to minimize the influence of individual great families, and this was effected by a complex electoral machinery. Thirty members of the Great Council, chosen by lot, were reduced by lot to nine; the nine chose forty and the forty were reduced by lot to twelve, who chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine, and the nine elected forty-five. These forty-five were once more reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven finally chose the forty-one who elected the doge. Election required at least twenty-five votes out of forty-one, nine votes out of eleven or twelve, or seven votes out of nine electors. Before taking the oath of investiture, the doge-elect was presented to the concio with the words: "This is your Doge, if it please you." This ceremonial gesture signified the assent of the Venetian people.

8. #8Regalia of The Doge.constant

   Keys: clothes., Doge, Regalia, clothing

   From the 14th century onward, the ceremonial crown and well-known symbol of the doge of Venice was called corno ducale, a unique ducal hat. It was a stiff horn-like bonnet, which was made of gemmed brocade or cloth-of-gold and worn over the camauro. This was a fine linen cap with a structured peak reminiscent of the Phrygian cap, a classical symbol of liberty. This ceremonial cap may have been ultimately based on the white crown of Upper Egypt. Every Easter Monday the doge headed a procession from San Marco to the convent of San Zaccaria, where the abbess presented him a new camauro crafted by the nuns. The Doge's official costume also included golden robes, slippers and a sceptre for ceremonial duties.

9. #9The Doge's Palace.

   Keys: apartments, Basilica., Palace

   The Doge's Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and the residence of the Doge of Venice, the elected authority of the former Republic of Venice. It was originally built in 810, rebuilt in 1340 and extended and modified in the following centuries. The oldest part of the palace is the wing overlooking the lagoon, the corners of which are decorated with 14th-century sculptures, thought to be by Filippo Calendario and various Lombard artists such as Matteo Raverti and Antonio Bregno. The ground floor arcade and the loggia above are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century capitals, some of which were replaced with copies during the 19th century. In 1438–1442, Giovanni Bon and Bartolomeo Bon built and adorned the Porta della Carta, which served as the ceremonial entrance to the building. The name of the gateway probably derives either from the fact that this was the area where public scribes set up their desks, or from the nearby location of the cartabum, the archives of state documents. Flanked by Gothic pinnacles, with two figures of the Cardinal Virtues per side, the gateway is crowned by a bust of Mark the Evangelist over which rises a statue of Justice with her traditional symbols of sword and scales. In the space above the cornice, there is a sculptural portrait of the Doge Francesco Foscari kneeling before the Lion of Saint Mark. This is, however, a 19th-century work by Luigi Ferrari, created to replace the original destroyed in 1797. The north side of the courtyard is closed by the junction between the palace and St Mark's Basilica, which used to be the Doge's chapel. At the centre of the courtyard stand two well-heads dating from the mid-16th century.

   In 1485, the Great Council decided that a ceremonial staircase should be built within the courtyard. The design envisaged a straight axis with the rounded Foscari Arch, with alternate bands of Istrian stone and red Verona marble, linking the staircase to the Porta della Carta, and thus producing one single monumental approach from the Piazza into the heart of the building. Since 1567, the Giants' Staircase is guarded by Sansovino's two colossal statues of Mars and Neptune, which represents Venice's power by land and by sea, and therefore the reason for its name. Members of the Senate gathered before government meetings in the Senator's Courtyard, to the right of the Giants' Staircase.

10. #10The Venetian Navy.constant

    Keys: Galleys, warships., Navy, Venetian

    The Venetian navy (Venetian: Armada) was the navy of the Venetian Republic which played an important role in the history of the republic and the Mediterranean world. It was the premier navy in the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries between the medieval and early modern periods, providing Venice with control and influence over trade and politics far in excess of the republic's size and population. It was one of the first navies to mount gunpowder weapons aboard ships, and through an organised system of naval dockyards, armouries and chandlers was able to continually keep ships at sea and rapidly replace losses. The Venetian Arsenal was one of the greatest concentrations of industrial capacity prior to the Industrial Revolution and responsible for the bulk of the republic's naval power. The high command of the fleet in peacetime was entrusted to the Provveditore Generale da Mar ('Superintendent-General of the Sea'), who resided at Corfu. In times of war, a Captain General of the Sea (Capitano general da Mar), with extensive powers, was appointed. Following the division of the fleet in the mid-17th century into a rowed fleet (armata sottile, lit. 'light fleet'), comprising galleys and galeasses, and sailing ships of the line (armata grossa, lit. 'heavy fleet'), the former formed three distinct squadrons, each under the command of the Provveditore d'armata ('Superintendent of the fleet'), the Capitano del Golfo ('Captain of the Gulf'), and the Governatore dei condannati ('Governor of the condemned ones'). The galeasses were sometimes placed under their own commander, the Capitano delle galeazze. The commanders of the ships of the line squadrons were the Capitano delle Navi ('Captain of the Sailing Ships'), the Almirante ('Admiral'), and the Patrona. The Capitano delle Navi was the earliest of the three offices and remained the highest in the sailing squadrons, albeit always under the command of the Capitano general da Mar. As the size of the sailing fleet grew, a second Capitano delle Navi or a Vice Capitano delle Navi were appointed to command the divisions of the sailing fleet, but eventually the more junior ranks of Almirante and Patrona during the Cretan War. For the same reason, an even higher post, that of Capitano Straordinario delle Navi ('Captain Extraordinary of the Sailing Ships') was created during the last Ottoman–Venetian war, but this was a wartime appointment only.

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