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SALVE · VENETIA
SALVE · VENETIA
GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN HISTORY BY FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD WITH 225 ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOSEPH PENNELL IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1906 All rights reserved Copyright , 1905, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1905. Reprinted January, 1906. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. ...
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SALVE VENETIA!
SALVE VENETIA!
Venice is the most personal of all cities in the world, the most feminine, the most comparable to a woman, the least dependent, for her individuality, upon her inhabitants, ancient or modern. What would Rome be without the memory of the Cæsars? What would Paris be without the Parisians? What was Constantinople like before it was Turkish? The imagination can hardly picture a Venice different from her present self at any time in her history. Where all is colour, the more brilliant costumes of earl
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I THE BEGINNINGS
I THE BEGINNINGS
In the beginning the river washed sand and mud out through the shallow water at the two mouths of the Brenta; and the tide fought against the streams at flood, so that the silt rose up in bars, but at ebb the salt water rushed out again, mingled with the fresh, and strong turbid currents hollowed channels between the banks, leading out to seaward, until the islands and bars took permanent shape and the currents acquired regular directions, in and out, between and amongst them. In the beginning t
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II THE LITTLE GOLDEN AGE
II THE LITTLE GOLDEN AGE
As soon as the fugitives had given up all hope of returning to the mainland, they began that tremendous struggle with nature which built up the Venice we still see, and which, in some degree, will end only when it shall have finally disappeared again in the course of ages. The beginners displayed an almost incredible activity, which their descendants sustained without a break for centuries. They strengthened the muddy islands with dykes and rows of driven piles; they dug canals and lined them fi
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III THE REPUBLIC OF SAINT MARK
III THE REPUBLIC OF SAINT MARK
During some time the influence of the Franks had been felt in the islands, and was beginning to counter-balance that of the Greeks. The great families now separated into two distinct parties, one of which favoured the rising Empire of the West, while the sympathies of the other remained firmly attached to the Court of Constantinople. These opposite leanings, however, were caused by questions of trade and money-making much more than by any political tendency, and neither side had any inclination
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IV VENICE UNDER THE FAMILIES OF PARTECIPAZIO, CANDIANO, AND ORSEOLO
IV VENICE UNDER THE FAMILIES OF PARTECIPAZIO, CANDIANO, AND ORSEOLO
For historical purposes it is best to consider that Venice was really founded in the year 811. From that date till 1032 the ducal throne was occupied, with only three exceptions, by a Partecipazio, a Candiano, or an Orseolo. It is true that every Doge was elected, but the great families would hardly have been human if they had not done their best to make the dignity hereditary. They were not afflicted by that strange fatality under which the Roman Cæsars almost always died without male issue, an
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V VENICE AND THE FIRST CRUSADES
V VENICE AND THE FIRST CRUSADES
It is not my intention to attempt in these pages an unbroken narrative of early Venetian history. Such attempts have been made by men of great and thorough learning, but they have failed in part or altogether because it is quite impossible to trust the only sources of information which have come down to us. These agree, indeed, more or less; that is, they agree just nearly enough to make it sure that something like the event they narrate in such widely different ways actually took place, in some
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VI VENICE AND CONSTANTINOPLE
VI VENICE AND CONSTANTINOPLE
The most conflicting judgments have been formed upon the action of the Venetian Republic at the decisive moments of her career, as well as upon the true sources of her wealth and importance. One writer, for instance, gravely tells us that Venice, like England, grew rich by usury and the slave trade; another, whose good faith cannot be doubted, assures the world that the two great mistakes which led to the final downfall of the Republic were the ‘Serrata del Gran Consiglio,’ which excluded the pe
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VII THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY IN VENICE
VII THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY IN VENICE
To the majority of people the fourteenth century in the history of Venice is memorable only for the great conspiracies which took place in that period, and which, even in the minds of cultivated Italians, seem to fill it completely, though only two, or at most three, are recorded, and the action of each in turn was of short duration. These three great conspiracies were those of Marino Faliero, of Tiepolo, who was at the head of a THE TIEPOLO PALACE vast movement, and the third may be described a
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VIII ON MANNERS AND CERTAIN CUSTOMS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
VIII ON MANNERS AND CERTAIN CUSTOMS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
In the natural order of things it is now time to say a few words about the manners and customs of the Venetians in the fourteenth century. Owing to lack of documents the subject is by no means an easy one. An ideal history would be a careful account of the daily doings and habits of a nation, concisely told and not out of proportion with the greater events of which an account is due. Such a history would be a fascinating tale, though it might be an almost interminable one. As in an endless galle
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IX THE FEAST OF THE MARIES
IX THE FEAST OF THE MARIES
The reader will not have forgotten how the Venetian brides were carried off by pirates of Narenta towards the middle of the tenth century, in the reign of Pier Candiano III. When, at a later date, the custom of celebrating all marriages on the same day of the year and in the same church was abandoned, the ceremony called ‘the Maries’ was continued each year in memory of the romantic event. The brides were replaced by twelve young girls, who were chosen among the most well-behaved in the city, so
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X THE DOGES IN THE EARLY PART OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
X THE DOGES IN THE EARLY PART OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Pietro Gradenigo reigned twenty-two years, during a very eventful period. In 1298 he had placed the aristocratic supremacy on a permanent basis, and a few months later he crushed the sedition of Marin Bocconio; eight years afterwards he put down the much more dangerous insurrection of Tiepolo and the Quirini; but he was less fortunate abroad than at home, and his foreign policy resulted in the wholesale excommunication of the Venetian people and government, as the direct consequence of the attem
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XI CONSPIRACY OF MARINO FALIERO
XI CONSPIRACY OF MARINO FALIERO
The conspiracy of Bocconio has no very distinct character; it was neither an attempt at popular revolution, nor an effort on the part of the burghers against the people on the one hand and the aristocracy on the other. The outbreak under the leadership of Tiepolo and the Quirini, although they succeeded in giving it the appearance of a democratic movement, was in reality an attempt on the part of an ambitious noble to seize the power wielded by the Doge Pietro Gradenigo, a man perhaps as ambitio
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XII THE SUCCESSORS OF MARINO FALIERO
XII THE SUCCESSORS OF MARINO FALIERO
Giovanni Gradenigo, who succeeded Marino Faliero, was fortunate enough to conclude a treaty of peace with the Genoese; and Giovanni Dolfin, the next Doge after him, showed some skill in obtaining from the Emperor the recognition of Venice’s suzerainty over the territory of Treviso. It was on this occasion that the lord of Sench arbitrarily threw into prison two Venetian ambassadors, as I have told in speaking of the treatment of strangers. The immediate effect of the outrage was to rouse in the
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XIII CARLO ZENO
XIII CARLO ZENO
At this period a man appears upon the scene who deserves to be taken as the highest type of a Venetian noble and of a dauntless soldier, in that remarkable age. He played such a part throughout his own time, the effect of his sudden appearance at the most critical moment in all Venetian history was so incalculably great, and the generalship he exhibited was of such a superior order, that it is worth while to give him a place apart in this work. I shall condense the account of his earlier years a
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XIV THE WAR OF CHIOGGIA
XIV THE WAR OF CHIOGGIA
The long rivalry of Venice and Genoa has been sufficiently explained, and frequently alluded to in the previous pages. To give a connected account of the almost constant warfare waged between the two republics in Eastern and Mediterranean waters, from the Sea of Azov to Cape Corso, is beyond the scope and limits of the present work; for in order to understand the nature of the last tremendous struggle that took place at Chioggia, almost within sight of Venice, it is only necessary to recapitulat
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XV VENICE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
XV VENICE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
As an epoch, if not precisely as a period of a hundred years, the fourteenth century in Venetian history closes with the war of Chioggia, as it began also before the year 1300 with the Closure of the Great Council. For the final defeat and ruin of the Genoese, Venice made the supreme heroic effort necessary to establish her greatness; thenceforth none questioned it, and with the attainment of her highest national aim ended the noblest page in her history. The Venetians of the first period were a
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THE DOGES OF VENICE
THE DOGES OF VENICE
(ACCORDING TO ROMANIN) Note. — The Venetian year began on March first, whence the frequent discrepancies between the dates given by different writers. In this work every effort has been made to bring all dates under the usual reckoning....
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SALVE · VENETIA
SALVE · VENETIA
GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN HISTORY BY FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD WITH 225 ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOSEPH PENNELL IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1906 All rights reserved Copyright , 1905, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1905. Reprinted January, 1906. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. ...
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I THE ARISTOCRATIC MAGISTRACIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
I THE ARISTOCRATIC MAGISTRACIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Like other aristocracies, the Venetian government rarely destroyed or altogether abolished any office or regulation which had existed a long time. When a change was needed the duties or powers of one or more of the Councils were extended, or a committee of the Council of Ten was appointed and presently turned into a separate tribunal, as when the Inquisitors of State were created. In one sense the government of Venice had now existed in a rigid and unchangeably aristocratic form during two centu
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II GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN CRIMINAL HISTORY
II GLEANINGS FROM VENETIAN CRIMINAL HISTORY
The records of the different tribunals of Venice are a mine of interesting information, and it is to be wondered that no student has devoted a separate volume to the subject. I shall only attempt to offer the reader a few gleanings which have come under my hand, and which may help to give an impression of the later days of the Republic. There were two distinct classes of criminals in Venice, as elsewhere—namely, professional criminals, who helped each other and often escaped justice; and, on the
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III VENETIAN DIPLOMACY
III VENETIAN DIPLOMACY
Before quitting the subject of Venetian official life, I must devote a few pages to the diplomacy of the Republic, which has remained famous in history. The kings of France often confided diplomatic missions to the clergy, but the Venetian diplomatists were always laymen, without a single exception. The Signory constantly professed the most devout faith in Catholic dogma, and as constantly exhibited the most profound distrust of the popes. The Vatican was, indeed, the chief object of the governm
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IV THE ARSENAL, THE GLASS-WORKS, AND THE LACE-MAKERS
IV THE ARSENAL, THE GLASS-WORKS, AND THE LACE-MAKERS
The old Arsenal is such a museum of shadows nowadays that it is hard to realise what it once meant to the Venetians. Six hundred years ago, the sight of it inspired one of Dante’s most vivid descriptions of activity, and I have sometimes wondered whether in his day the three dwelling-houses of the Provveditors were already nick-named Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, as they were always called at a later date. The Arsenal was founded in the twelfth century, and from the very first was one of the inst
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V CONCERNING SOME LADIES OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
V CONCERNING SOME LADIES OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
The clever modern Italian playwright, Signor Martini, makes one of his witty characters say that there are ‘women,’ but that there is no such thing as ‘woman’ in the abstract. In other words, ‘women’ are a fact, but ‘woman’ is a myth. Though this may be a little paradoxical, there are certainly distinct types of women in each class of life. The smart society woman of to-day and the labourer’s wife, like the Venetian patrician lady of the sixteenth century and the fisher-wives of Chioggia, have i
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VI A FEW PAINTERS, MEN OF LETTERS, AND SCHOLARS
VI A FEW PAINTERS, MEN OF LETTERS, AND SCHOLARS
According to some trustworthy authorities, Raphael, Martin Luther, and Rabelais were born in the same year. The fact that they were certainly contemporaries with each other and with many other men of genius of contradictory types is one of the principal features of that most contradictory age. Signor Molmenti compares the gifts of Carpaccio and the two Bellini to rays that warm and gladden, those of Titian and Tintoretto to lights that dazzle but give no heat. In two centuries that immense chang
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VII THE TRIUMPHANT CITY
VII THE TRIUMPHANT CITY
When Philippe de Commines came to Venice in 1495 as ambassador of Charles VIII. he wrote: ‘This is the most triumphant city that ever I saw.’ He meant what he said figuratively, no doubt, for in that day there was something overwhelming about the wealth and splendour, and the vast success of the Republic. But he meant it literally too, for no state or city of the world celebrated its own victories with such pomp and magnificence as Venice. The Venetians had never been altogether at peace with th
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VIII THE HOSE CLUB—VENETIAN LEGENDS
VIII THE HOSE CLUB—VENETIAN LEGENDS
In the fourteenth century, life in Venice was simple and vigorous, and found its civic expression in the formation of the Guilds which united in close and brotherly bonds men of grave and energetic character, devoted to their country and to its advantage. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the tendencies of the later Venetians took visible shape in brotherhoods of joyous and not harmless amusement, and chiefly in that known as the ‘Compagnia della Calza,’ in plain English the ‘Hose Club.’
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IX THE DECADENCE
IX THE DECADENCE
The seventeenth century, like the fourteenth, was one of transition; but whereas the earlier period was one of improvement, the latter was one of decay. When time at last began to do its work upon the Republic, Venice had been independent nine hundred years; she was still at the height of her glory, still in the magnificence of her outward splendour, but the long-strained machinery of government was beginning to wear out. At the commencement of the seventeenth century all Italy seemed to be thre
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X THE LAST HOMES—THE LAST GREAT LADIES
X THE LAST HOMES—THE LAST GREAT LADIES
Two men, a painter and a dramatist, have left us the means of knowing exactly what the eighteenth century was in Venice. It is not a paradox to say that Longhi painted comedies, and that Goldoni wrote portraits. Both were Venetians, and they had the courage to depict and describe respectively the glaring faults of their own people, not realising, perhaps, that the general corruption was beyond remedy, and that the end was at hand. CAMPO S. BARTOLOMEO, STATUE OF GOLDONI Look at Longhi’s ‘Fortune-
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XI THE LAST CARNIVALS—THE LAST FAIRS THE LAST FEASTS
XI THE LAST CARNIVALS—THE LAST FAIRS THE LAST FEASTS
No people ever combined business with pleasure so advantageously as the Venetians, and few governments have understood as well as theirs how to make use of amusement in managing the people; indeed, the method was so convenient that at last the Signory preferred it to all others, and took most pains to promote the public gaiety just when the Republic was on the verge of dissolution. There is something unnatural in the contrast between the outward life and the inward death of Venice in those last
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XII THE LAST MAGISTRATES
XII THE LAST MAGISTRATES
The philosophical reader will naturally ask what elements composed the Great Council of the Venetian Republic at a time when France was on the brink of the Revolution, and all Europe was about to be shaken by the explosion of the first new idea that had dawned on mankind since Christianity. I shall try to answer the question. S. BARNABÒ There were three classes of men in the Council: first, the ancient aristo-plutocracy which, though with a few additions to its numbers, and though itself divided
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XIII THE LAST SBIRRI
XIII THE LAST SBIRRI
It is worth while to glance at the agents of the police, of the Council of Ten, and of the Inquisitors of State at the end of the Republic. The two Councils had six in their service, called the Fanti de’ Cai, the footmen of the Heads, and one of them was at the beck and call of the Inquisitors. This particular one was the famous Cristofolo de ’ Cristofoli, whose name is connected alike with all the tragedies and the comic adventures of the last days. He was a sort of general inspector of freemas
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XIV THE LAST DOGES
XIV THE LAST DOGES
Between the beginning of the eighteenth century and the end of the Republic eleven Doges occupied the throne. Of these the only one who might have saved the government or retarded its fall was the very one who reigned the shortest time. Let us say that if he had lived, he might have so far restored the strength of the ancient aristocracy as to admit of its perishing in a struggle instead of dying of old age. This Doge was Marco Foscarini, who was elected on the thirty-first of May 1762, and died
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XV THE LAST SOLDIERS
XV THE LAST SOLDIERS
During the eighteenth century Venetian diplomacy succeeded in preserving the Republic’s neutral position in spite of the great wars that agitated Europe. Her only war was with the Turks, and it was disastrous. Early in the century the Turks attacked the Peloponnesus, and Venice lost her richest colonies in rapid succession. Her navy was no longer a power, and she was almost without allies, for the European powers were exhausted by the recent war of the Spanish succession, and though Malta and th
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XVI THE LAST DIPLOMATISTS
XVI THE LAST DIPLOMATISTS
During the seventeenth century the Republic had no doubt of her own military strength, but nevertheless trusted much to her diplomacy; in the eighteenth the latter was the last good weapon left her of the many that had once been in her armoury, and skilled as her diplomatic agents were, their efforts could not prevent her from spoliation by the Turks, whose simple rule was to take first and to talk about rights afterwards. In a measure, too, Venice’s position as a neutral power was dearly bought
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XVII THE LAST HOUR
XVII THE LAST HOUR
The end was at hand when Bonaparte crossed the river Po. One is apt to forget that he had already showed himself to be much more than a victorious general, and that throughout the campaign he displayed that marvellous skill in dealing with men which so often ensured him an enthusiastic reception in places where he could not have been expected to be welcome. He had soon realised the horrible impression produced everywhere outside of France by the Revolution, the Terror, and the Committee of Publi
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XVIII CONCLUSION
XVIII CONCLUSION
The discharge of musketry which had frightened the Great Council out of its senses had been only the parting salute of the Slavonic soldiers as they sailed out of the harbour. It was the last mark of respect the Venetians of Venice received, and it was by a dramatic coincidence that it was offered at the very instant when the Republic ended. Every one has read how the Doge went back to his own room and A GATEWAY handed his ducal bonnet to his servant, saying that he should not need it again. Wha
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THE DOGES OF VENICE
THE DOGES OF VENICE
(ACCORDING TO ROMANIN) Note. — The Venetian year began on March first, whence the frequent discrepancies between the dates given by different writers. In this work every effort has been made to bring all dates under the usual reckoning....
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SOME EMINENT MEN AND WOMEN CONNECTED WITH VENICE
SOME EMINENT MEN AND WOMEN CONNECTED WITH VENICE
The places where some of the principal works of Painters and Architects may be seen are given in this list, which, however, is by no means exhaustive. ARCHITECTS ( Many of these were also Sculptors. ) 1618-1684. Giuseppe Benoni. The Dogana. (Not known)-1529. Bartolommeo Bon. Ducal Palace, S. Maria dell’ Orto, Scuola di San Rocco, Palazzo Foscari. (Not known)-about 1680. Baldassare Longhena. S. Maria degli Scalzi, S. Maria della Salute, Palazzo Giustiniani Lolin, Palazzo Rezzonico, Palazzo Pesaro
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