Brief History of Venice
The historical center of the city is 4 kilometers from the mainland on 118 islands of the Venetian Lagoon. (SEE MAP)
Uniquely Venice:
The Doge of Venice (and his palace)
The Doge is the elected highest leader of the Republic. The first was elected in 727 (or 697?). He is elected for life, but usually the pool of names is only of those 70 and older.
Palace originally built in 814, burned in 976. Rebuilt, damaged by fire and then rebuilt from 1309-1424.
Piazza San Marco
The focal point of Venice's water transport system.
Not a square…a trapezoid.
It was originally laid out in the 11th c. when it's area was divided in half by a canal. A century later the canal was filled in, creating the basic shape we see today. In the 16th c. a major building project got underway and the following century saw the replacement of the stone paving.
Buildings surrounding the "square" are:
The Ponte di Rialto- the true heart of Venice
The current bridge was built from 1588-1591 as a permanent replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th c. It was the only way to cross the canal on foot until 1854.
24' arch on 12,000 wooden pilings . Has 3 walkways (2 outside, one in the middle)
The Merceria- street leading from Rialto to San Marco. Was lined with shops selling expensive and exotic goods.
Jewish Ghetto (and cemetary on Lido di Venezia)-
Although there is evidence of a Jewish population as early as _______- It was in the….. In 1516 the Jewish population of Venice was decreed to live in the ghetto on
After death, segregation still continued. The Jewish cemetery was originally a vineyard adjacent to the Benedictine monastery of San Nicolo di Mira. In 1386 it was given to the Jews in perpetuity for burials. It appears that burials were still segregated by original culture have been vastly scrambled by relocating when the new cemetery was open in an adjacent area in the 1800's. This new cemetery is still in use.
Glassmaking on Island of Murano
Early triumph. Glassmaking existed in the lagoon of Venice from as early as the 8th century. In ensuing centuries the artisans of Venice began to accumulate some singular skills in glass production--gathered presumably in the course of the Republic of Venice's extensive trade throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Islamic territories of the Levant and North Africa. In this connection, the conquest of Constantinople by the wayward Fourth Crusade was a watershed event, opening to Venice the practices of the glass producers of that great imperial city.
By 1291 the glassmakers of the Venetian lagoon had distilled all of that knowledge into unique and proprietary production skills. In that year the government of Venice banned glass furnaces from the central islands of Venice, relegating them to Murano. Most historians have assumed that the order resulted from a fear that the fires of the glass furnaces might create a tragic conflagration among the largely wooden structures of crowded Venice. However, it has been plausibly suggested that the move was made in order to isolate the master glassblowers and prevent their sharing their valuable glassmaking know how with foreigners. In fact, the glassblowers became virtual prisoners on Murano, insulated from any contacts who might divulge their production secrets to potential competitors abroad. By that time, Venetian--or Murano--glassmaking had become the leading source of fine glass in Europe and a major source of trading income for the Republic of Venice. Most of the glass of that period, though luxurious, was utilitarian. Mirrors, for example, were major revenue producers, but beautiful and intricate decorative objects were produced as well, often exhibiting complex new techniques developed by Murano's extraordinary artisans.
Slow secular decline. Yet trade domination built on monopoly--especially a monopoly in know how--is inherently unstable. By the 1600s important rival centers had begun to emerge, notably in France and Moravia. At the same time, shifting trade routes began to undermine Venice's strategic trading advantages. As a result, the decline in Venice's general political and commercial importance after 1600 was mirrored by the gradual, long-term decline of its glass industry on Murano. Final collapse for both the republic and the industry came with the conquest of Venice by Napoleon's French forces in 1797, followed in 1814 by the ultimate transfer of Venice from France to the Habsburg Empire centered in Austria.
Feasts and Festivals
First and foremost, as in most Catholic countries, the Carnival season preceding Lent was a grand celebration. The Venetians began their carnival, the first major masked one, on Dec. 26th and kept getting more caught up in the spirit of things until Marti Gras. In the records I read, their seemed to be particular significance on the "last Thursday"
Another annual festival was the celebration of the Marriage of the city and the ocean. The Doge would throw a ring into the sea.