Venice
Venezia |
— Comune — |
Comune di Venezia |
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and finally the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore |
Coat of arms |
|
Location of Venice in Italy |
Coordinates:
45°26′15″N
12°20′9″ECoordinates:
45°26′15″N
12°20′9″E |
Country |
Italy |
Region |
Veneto |
Province |
Venice (VE) |
Frazioni |
Chirignago, Favaro Veneto,
Mestre,
Marghera,
Murano,
Burano,
Giudecca,
Lido, Zelarino |
Government |
• Mayor |
Giorgio Orsoni (Democratic
Party) |
Area |
• Total |
414.57 km2 (160.07 sq mi) |
Elevation |
0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2009-04-30) |
• Total |
270,660 |
• Density |
650/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
Demonym |
Venetians |
Time zone |
CET (UTC+1) |
• Summer (DST) |
CEST (UTC+2) |
Postal code |
30100 |
Dialing code |
041 |
Patron saint |
St. Mark the Evangelist |
Saint day |
25 April |
Website |
Official website |
Venice (Italian:
Venezia
[veˈnɛttsja] (
listen),
Venetian: Venexia
[veˈnɛsja]; (Latin:
Venetia)) is a city in
northeast Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by
canals and linked by bridges.[1]
It is located in the marshy
Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline between the
mouths of the
Po and the
Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its
architecture and its artworks.[1]
The city in its entirety is listed as a
World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.[1]
Venice is the capital of the
Veneto
region. In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's
comune (the population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the
population of the whole
Comune
of Venezia; around 60,000[2]
in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in
Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large
frazioni of
Mestre
and
Marghera; 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon). Together with
Padua and
Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice
Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), with a total population of 1,600,000.
The name is derived from the ancient
Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC.[3][4]
The city historically was the capital of the
Venetian Republic. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante",
"Serenissima", "Queen of the
Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The
Floating City", and "City of Canals".
Luigi Barzini described it in
The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built
by man".[5]
Venice has also been described by the
Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.[6]
The
Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the
Middle Ages and
Renaissance, and a
staging area for the
Crusades and the
Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce
(especially silk, grain, and
spice) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th
century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.[7]
It is also known for its several important artistic movements,
especially the
Renaissance period. Venice has played an important role in the
history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of
Antonio Vivaldi.
History
Origins
While there are no historical records that deal directly with the
founding of Venice,[8]
tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to
agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from
Roman cities near Venice such as
Padua,
Aquileia,
Treviso,
Altino
and Concordia (modern
Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing
successive waves of
Germanic and
Hun
invasions.[9]
Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands
in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae
lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified
with the dedication of the first church, that of
San Giacomo at the islet of
Rialto
(Rivoalto, "High Shore"), which is said to have been at the stroke of
noon on 25 March 421.[10][11]
The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian
peninsula was that of the
Lombards in 568, leaving the
Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto,
including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the
Exarchate of Ravenna, administered from that ancient port and
overseen by a viceroy (the Exarch) appointed by the Emperor in
Constantinople, but Ravenna and Venice were connected only by sea routes
and with the Venetian's isolated position came increasing autonomy. New
ports were built, including those at Malamocco and
Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the
earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the
Lagoon, dated from c. 568.[12]
The traditional first
doge of Venice,
Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually
Exarch Paul, and his successor,
Marcello Tegalliano, Paul's
magister militum (General; literally, "Master of Soldiers.") In
726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over
the
iconoclastic controversy at the urging of
Pope Gregory II. The Exarch was murdered and many officials put to
flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon
elected their own leader for the first time, although the relationship
of this ascent to the uprisings is not clear.
Ursus would become the first of 117 "doges"
(doge is the Venetian dialect development of the Latin
dux
("leader"); the corresponding word in English is
duke,
in standard Italian
duce.)
Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor
Leo's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending
both men and ships. In recognition, Venice was "granted numerous
privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the
field, was confirmed by Leo as
dux[13]
and given the added title of
hypatus (Greek for "Consul".)[14]
In 751, the Lombard King
Aistulf
conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna, leaving Venice a lonely and
increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat
of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"),
was situated in
Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably
increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine
territories as refugees sought asylum in the lagoon city. In 775/776,
the episcopal seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign
of duke
Agnello Particiaco (811–827), the ducal seat was moved from
Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of
Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first
ducal palace and
basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus)
between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here. Winged lions,
which may be seen throughout Venice, are a symbol for St. Mark.
Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his own rule. He ordered
the Pope to expel the Venetians from the
Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast,[15]
and Charlemagne's own son
Pepin of Italy,
king of the Lombards under the authority of his father, embarked on
a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The
siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of
the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw. A few months later,
Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted
there. In the aftermath, an agreement between
Charlemagne and
Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and
granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.
In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the acquisition of the
claimed relics of
St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the
new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the
community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to
the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.[16]
Expansion
These
Horses of Saint Mark are a replica of the
Triumphal
Quadriga captured in Constantinople in 1204 and carried
to Venice as a trophy.
From the 9th to the 12th century Venice developed into a
city state (an Italian
thalassocracy or
Repubblica Marinara, the other three being
Genoa,
Pisa, and
Amalfi).
Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval
and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of
pirates along the
Dalmatian coast, the city became a flourishing trade center between
Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the
Byzantine Empire and the
Islamic world).
The
Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores
of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because
pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried
the titles of Duke of
Dalmatia and Duke of
Istria.
Later mainland possessions, which extended across
Lake Garda as far west as the
Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly
as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee
Alpine
trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on
which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the
Republic dominated the trade in salt,[17]
acquired control of most of the islands in the
Aegean, including
Cyprus
and Crete,
and became a major power-broker in the
Near
East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its
mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such
towns as
Bergamo,
Brescia
and
Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was
threatened by invaders.
Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice
granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the
so-called
Golden Bulls or 'chrysobulls' in return for aiding the Eastern
Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull
Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire but not in the second,
reflecting the decline of
Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power.[18][19]
Venice became an imperial power following the
Fourth Crusade, which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204
by capturing and sacking
Constantinople and establishing the
Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest considerable Byzantine
plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the
gilt bronze horses from the
Hippodrome of Constantinople, which were originally placed above the
entrance to St Mark's cathedral in Venice, although the originals have
been replaced with replicas and the originals are now stored within the
basilica. Following the fall of Constantinople the former Roman Empire
was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice
subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known
as the
Duchy of the Archipelago, and captured Crete.[20]
The seizure of
Constantinople would ultimately prove as decisive a factor in ending
the
Byzantine Empire as the loss of the
Anatolian
themes after
Manzikert. Though the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged
city a half century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened,
and existed as a ghost of its old self until
Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453.
Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded with the
Byzantine Empire and the
Muslim world extensively. By the late 13th century, Venice was the
most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and
wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating
Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice's leading families vied
with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of
the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the
Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of
Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a
Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for
efficient administration, a
Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria),
controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the
great council was elected "Doge",
or duke, the ceremonial head of the city, who normally held the title
until his death.
The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the
republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the
Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with
limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or
withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various
private properties were tied to military service, though there was no
knight tenure within the city itself. The
Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of
chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or
join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a
republic throughout its independent period and politics and the military
were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed
the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other
means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of
mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign
mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).
The chief executive was the Doge, who theoretically held his elective
office for life. In practice, several Doges were forced by pressure from
their
oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into
monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by
perceived political failure.
Though the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman
Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from
religious fanaticism and it enacted not a single execution for religious
heresy during the
Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to
Venice's frequent conflicts with the
Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican Divine,
William Bedell, are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened
with the
interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its
imposition. The second, most famous, occasion in 1606, by order of
Pope Paul V.
Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the
politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating
information to modern historians.
The newly invented German
printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century,
and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482 Venice was the printing
capital of the world, and the leading printer was
Aldus Manutius, who invented the concept of paperback books that
could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included
translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.[21]
Decline
Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made
an unsuccessful attempt to hold
Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to
help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After
Constantinople fell to
Sultan Mehmet II he declared war on Venice. The war lasted thirty
years and cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions.
Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Then Portugal found
a sea route to India, destroying Venice's land route monopoly. France,
England and Holland followed them. Venice's oared galleys were at a
disadvantage when it came to traversing the great oceans, and therefore
Venice was left behind in the race for colonies.
The
Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575
and 1577.[22]
In three years the
plague killed some 50,000 people.[23]
In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.[24]
Venice began to lose its position as a center of
international trade during the later part of the
Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in
the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's
great wealth, while France and Spain fought for
hegemony over Italy in the
Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the
Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products and, until
the mid-18th century, a significant
manufacturing center.
Military
and naval affairs
By 1303,
crossbow practice had become compulsory in the city, with citizens
training in groups. As weapons became more expensive and complex to
operate, professional soldiers were assigned to help work merchant
sailing ships and as rowers in galleys. The company of "Noble Bowmen"
was recruited in the later 14th century from among the younger
aristocracy and served aboard both war-galleys and as armed
merchantmen, with the privilege of sharing the captain's cabin.
Though Venice was famous for its navy, its army was equally
effective. In the 13th century, most Italian city states already were
hiring
mercenaries, but Venetian troops were still recruited from the
lagoon, plus feudal levies from
Dalmatia (the very famous
Schiavoni or
Oltremarini)[25]
and Istria. In times of emergency, all males between seventeen and sixty
years were registered and their weapons were surveyed, with those called
to actually fight being organized into companies of twelve. The register
of 1338 estimated that 30,000 Venetian men were capable of bearing arms;
many of these were skilled crossbowmen. As in other Italian cities,
aristocrats and other wealthy men were
cavalrymen while the city's conscripts fought as
infantry.
By 1450, more than 3,000 Venetian merchant ships were in operation.
Most of these could be converted when necessary into either warships or
transports. The government required each merchant ship to carry a
specified number of weapons (mostly crossbows and
javelins)
and armour;
merchant passengers were also expected to be armed and to fight when
necessary. A reserve of some 25 (later 100)
war-galleys
was maintained in the
Arsenal. Galley
slaves
did not exist in medieval Venice, the oarsmen coming from the city
itself or from its possessions, especially
Dalmatia. Those from the city were chosen by lot from each parish,
their families being supported by the remainder of the parish while the
rowers were away.
Debtors
generally worked off their obligations rowing the galleys. Rowing skills
were encouraged through races and
regattas.
Early in the 15th century, as new mainland territories were expanded,
the first standing army was organized, consisting of
condottieri on contract. In its alliance with
Florence in 1426, Venice agreed to supply 8,000 cavalry and 3,000
infantry in time of war, and 3,000 and 1,000 in peacetime. Later in that
century, uniforms were adopted that featured red-and-white stripes, and
a system of honors and pensions developed. Throughout the 15th century,
Venetian land forces were almost always on the offensive and were
regarded as the most effective in Italy, largely because of the
tradition of all classes carrying arms in defense of the city and
official encouragement of general military training.
Venice, by Bolognino Zaltieri, 1565.
The command structure in the army was different from that of the
fleet. By ancient law, no nobleman could command more than twenty-five
men (to prevent the possibility of
sedition by private armies), and while the position of Captain
General was introduced in the mid-14th century, he still had to answer
to a civilian panel of twenty Savi or "wise men". Not only was
efficiency not degraded, this policy saved Venice from the
military takeovers that other Italian
city states so often experienced. A civilian commissioner (not
unlike a
commissar) accompanied each army to keep an eye on things,
especially the mercenaries. The Venetian military tradition also was
notably cautious; they were more interested in achieving success with a
minimum expense of lives and money than in the pursuit of glory.
Modern age
A map of the sestiere of San Marco
The Republic lost independence when
Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the
First Coalition. The French conqueror brought to an end the most
fascinating century of its history: during the 18th century Venice
became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly
influencing art, architecture and literature. Napoleon was seen as
something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it
can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He
removed the gates of the
Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live
and travel in the city.
Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the
Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took
control of the city on 18 January 1798. It was taken from Austria by the
Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's
Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's
defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848–1849 a revolt briefly
reestablished the
Venetian Republic under
Daniele Manin. In 1866, following the
Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of
the Veneto, became part of the newly created
Kingdom of Italy.
During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from
attack, the only aggressive effort of note being
Operation Bowler, a precision strike on the German naval operations
there in 1945. However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and
the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were
repeatedly bombed.[26]
On 29 April 1945 New Zealand troops under
Freyberg reached Venice and relieved the city and the mainland,
which were already in
partisan hands.[27]
Subsidence
Venice and surroundings in false colour, from
Terra. The picture is oriented with North at the top.
Foundations
The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden
piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of
submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or
stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer
of sand and
mud until
they reach a much harder layer of compressed
clay.
Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not
decay as rapidly as on the surface. It is petrified as a result of
the constant flow of mineral-rich water around and through it, so that
it becomes a stone-like structure.[citation
needed]
Most of these piles were made from trunks of
alder
trees,[28]
a wood noted for its water resistance.[29]
The alder came from the westernmost part of today's
Slovenia (resulting in the barren land of the
Kras
region), in two regions of Croatia,
Lika and
Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of
Velebit)
and south of
Montenegro.[citation
needed] Leonid Grigoriev has stated that Russian
larch was
imported to build some of Venice's foundations.[30]
Larch is also used in the production of
Venice turpentine.[31]
History
Panorama of the Giudecca Canal and the Saint Mark's Basin
Drawing of the Doge's Palace, late 14th century
The city is often threatened by flood
tides
pushing in from the
Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago,
Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all
the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment
from filling the area around the city. This created an ever-deeper
lagoon environment.
In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief Venice introduced what
could be considered the first example of a 'stamp
tax'. When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice
introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted
instructions, which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. At first,
this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until the fall
of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax,
Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the
practice spread to other countries.
During the 20th century, when many
artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw
water for local industry, Venice began to
subside. It was realised that extraction of water from the
aquifer
was the cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were
banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more
frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that
creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly
following certain tides. In many old houses the former staircases used
to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor
uninhabitable.
Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer
sinking,[32][33]
but this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been
revoked. In May 2003 the Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the
MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental
model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea
is to fix a series of 78 hollow
pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon.
When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons
will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming
water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work is due to be
completed by 2014.[34]
Geography
Sestieri of Venice:
Cannaregio
Castello
Dorsoduro
San Marco
San Polo
Santa Croce
The city is divided into six areas or "sestiere".
These are
Cannaregio,
San
Polo,
Dorsoduro (including the
Giudecca and
Isola Sacca Fisola),
Santa Croce,
San Marco (including
San Giorgio Maggiore) and
Castello (including
San Pietro di Castello and
Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a
procurator and his staff.
These districts consist of parishes – initially seventy in 1033, but
reduced under
Napoleon and now numbering just thirty-eight. These parishes predate
the sestieri, which were created in about 1170.
Other islands of the
Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having
historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.
Each sestiere has its own
house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the
district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one
corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily
understandable manner.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification, Venice has a
Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very
warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is
2.5 °C
(36.5 °F), and for July this
figure is 22.7 °C
(72.9 °F). Precipitation is
spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 801
millimetres (31.5 in).
[hide]Climate
data for Venice (1961–1990) |
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
Average high °C (°F) |
5.8
(42.4) |
8.2
(46.8) |
12.0
(53.6) |
16.3
(61.3) |
21.2
(70.2) |
24.8
(76.6) |
27.5
(81.5) |
27.0
(80.6) |
23.6
(74.5) |
18.1
(64.6) |
11.5
(52.7) |
6.7
(44.1) |
16.9
(62.4) |
Average low °C (°F) |
−0.9
(30.4) |
0.7
(33.3) |
3.8
(38.8) |
7.9
(46.2) |
12.3
(54.1) |
15.9
(60.6) |
17.8
(64.0) |
17.3
(63.1) |
14.2
(57.6) |
9.4
(48.9) |
4.2
(39.6) |
0.0
(32.0) |
8.6
(47.5) |
Precipitation mm (inches) |
58.1
(2.287) |
54.2
(2.134) |
57.1
(2.248) |
64.3
(2.531) |
68.7
(2.705) |
76.4
(3.008) |
63.1
(2.484) |
83.1
(3.272) |
66.0
(2.598) |
69.0
(2.717) |
87.3
(3.437) |
53.7
(2.114) |
801.0
(31.535) |
% humidity |
81 |
77 |
75 |
75 |
73 |
74 |
71 |
72 |
75 |
77 |
79 |
81 |
75.8 |
Avg. precipitation
days |
6.7 |
6.2 |
6.6 |
8.2 |
8.3 |
8.9 |
5.7 |
1.7 |
5.4 |
6.0 |
7.7 |
6.4 |
77.8 |
Mean monthly sunshine
hours |
80.6 |
107.4 |
142.6 |
174.0 |
229.4 |
243.0 |
288.3 |
257.3 |
198.0 |
151.9 |
87.0 |
77.5 |
2,037.0 |
Source: MeteoAM[35] |
Economy
Venice's economy has changed throughout history. In the
Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, Venice was a major centre for commerce and trade, as it
controlled a vast sea-empire, and became an extremely wealthy European
city, a leader in political and economic affairs and a centre for trade
and commerce.[36]
From the 11th century until the 15th century
pilgrimages to the
Holy
Land were offered in Venice. Other ports such as
Genoa,
Pisa,
Marseille,
Ancona
and
Dubrovnik were hardly able to make any competition to the well
organized transportation of pilgrims from Venice.[37][38]
This all changed by the 17th century, when Venice's trade empire was
taken over by other countries such as Portugal, and its naval importance
was reduced. In the 18th century, then, it became a major agricultural
and industrial exporter. The 18th century's biggest industrial complex
was the
Venice Arsenal, and the Italian Army still uses it today (even
though some space has been used for major theatrical and cultural
productions, and beautiful spaces for art).[39]
Today, Venice's economy is mainly based on tourism, shipbuilding (mainly
done in the neighbouring cities of
Mestre
and
Porto Marghera), services, trade and industrial exports.[36]
Murano glass production in
Murano
and lace production in
Burano
are also highly important to the economy.[36]
Tourism
Piazza San Marco. Doge's Palace
Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world
for its celebrated art and architecture.[40]
The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day (2007 estimate).[41]
In 2006, it was the world's 28th most internationally visited city, with
2.927 million international arrivals that year.[42]
Travel poster from c. 1920 for Venice
A gondola and a gondolier in the Grand Canal.
Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th
century, when it was a major center for the
Grand Tour, with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich
musical and artistic cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it became a
fashionable centre for the rich and famous, often staying or dining at
luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the
Caffè Florian. It continued being a fashionable city in vogue right
into the early 20th century.[40]
In the 1980s, the
Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major
centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the
prestigious
Venice Biennale and the
Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world
for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical
productions[40]
Today, there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as
St Mark's Basilica, the
Grand Canal, and the
Piazza San Marco. The
Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination,
attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities, and mainly people
in the cinematic industry. The city also relies heavily on the cruise
business.[40]
However, Venice's popularity as a major worldwide tourist destination
has caused several problems, including the fact that the city can be
very overcrowded at some points of the year. It is regarded by some as a
tourist trap, and by others as a 'living museum'.[40]
Unlike most other places in Western Europe, and the world, Venice has
become widely known for its element of
elegant decay. The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice
has made prices rise so highly that numerous inhabitants are forced to
move to more affordable areas of
Veneto
and Italy, the most notable being
Mestre.
Transport
Venice is built on an
archipelago of 117 islands formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon,
connected by 409 bridges.[43]
In the old centre, the canals serve the function of roads, and almost
every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a
causeway to the mainland brought the
Venezia Santa Lucia railway station to Venice, and the
Ponte della Libertà road causeway and parking facilities were built
during the 20th century. Beyond the road and rail land entrances at the
northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains (as it
was in centuries past) entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's
largest urban
car-free area. Venice is unique in Europe, in having remained a
sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars
or trucks.
The classical 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' (sing.:
traghetto) to cross the Canale Grande in the absence of a nearby bridge.
Many gondolas are lushly appointed with crushed velvet seats and Persian
rugs. Less well-known is the smaller
sandolo.
At the front of each
Gondola
that works in the city there is a large piece of metal called the
'ferro,' or iron. Its shape has evolved through the centuries, as
documented in many well-known paintings. Its form, topped by a likeness
of the Doge's hat, became gradually standardized, and was then fixed by
local law. It consists of six bars pointing forwards representing the
Sestieri of the city, and one that points backward representing the
Giudecca).[citation
needed]
Waterways
Satellite view with clearly visible water buses and taxis,
acquired by
Ikonos-2, 2008
Venezia is a city of small islands, enhanced during the Middle Ages
by the dredging of soils to raise the marshy ground above the tides. The
resulting canals encouraged a nautical culture to flourish, 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.
The maze of canals threaded through the city requires the use of more
than 400 bridges to permit the flow of foot traffic. In 2011 the city
opened
Ponte della Costituzione, the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal,
connecting the
Piazzale Roma bus terminal area with the Stazione Ferroviaria (train
station), the others being the original
Ponte di Rialto, the
Ponte dell'Accademia, and the
Ponte degli Scalzi.
Public transport
Azienda Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is the name of the
public transport system in Venice. It combines land transportation, with
buses, and canal travel, with
water buses (vaporetti). In total, there are 25 routes that connect
the city.
The main public transportation means are motorised
waterbuses (vaporetti),
which ply regular routes along the Grand Canal and between the city's
islands. The only gondole still in common use by Venetians are the
traghetti, foot passenger
ferries
crossing the
Grand Canal at certain points without bridges.
The
Venice People Mover (managed by ASM) is a
cable operated
public transit system connecting
Tronchetto island with Piazzale Roma. Water taxis are also active.
Morning Impression along a Canal in Venice, Veneto, Italy.
by
Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1896) The Di Rocco Wieler
Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
Airports
Venice is served by the
Marco Polo International Airport, or Aeroporto di Venezia
Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen. The airport is
on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast. From the Venice
airport, it's possible to reach by public transport:
- Venice
Piazzale Roma by ATVO (provincial company) buses[44]
and by ACTV (city company) buses (route 5 aerobus);[45]
- Venice, Lido and Murano by Alilaguna (private company) boats;
- Mestre, the mainland and Venice Mestre railways station
(convenient for connections to
Milan,
Padova,
Trieste,
Verona
and the rest of Italy) by ACTV lines (route 15 and 45)[45]
and by ATVO lines;
- regional destination (Treviso, Padua, beach, ...) by ATVO buses
and by Busitalia Sita Nord[46]
buses (national company).
Some airlines market
Treviso Airport in
Treviso,
30 km from Venice, as a Venice gateway. Some simply advertise flights to
"Venice", while naming the actual airport only in small print.[47]
To reach Venice from Treviso airport people can catch a public bus from
the company ATVO.
Venezia Lido,[48]
a public airport suitable for smaller aircraft, is found on the NE end
of
Lido di Venezia. It has a 1000-metre grass runway.
Trains
Venice is serviced by regional and national trains, which can connect
the city to Rome in 3.5 hours and to Milan in 2.5 hours. Treviso is
thirty-five minutes away.[49]
Florence and Padua are two of the stops between Rome and Venice. The
St. Lucia station is a few steps away from a vaporetti stop.
The station is the terminus and starting point of the Venice Simplon
Orient Express from or to London Victoria and Paris.
Car
The maritime portion of Venice has no roads as such, being composed
almost entirely of narrow footpaths, and laid out across islands
connected by staired stone footbridges, making transportation impossible
by almost anything with wheels. Cars can reach the car/bus terminal via
the
Ponte della Libertà bridge that comes in from the northwest from
Mestre.
There are two parking lots that serve the city: Tronchetto and Piazzale
Roma. A ferry to Lido leaves from the parking lot in Tronchetto, and it
is served by public transportation in the form of vaporetti (boats) and
buses.
Administrative subdivision
The whole comune (English: municipality) di Venezia is
divided into 6 municipalità (English: boroughs):
Mainland (terraferma):
A Royal Decree, in 1926, annexed mainland to the comune of Venezia.
Education
Venice is a major international centre for higher education. The city
hosts
Ca' Foscari University of Venice founded in 1868,
Iuav University of Venice founded in 1926 and
Venice International University an international research center
founded in 1995 located on the island of
San Servolo.
Demographics
In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's comune (the
population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of
the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of
Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland); and
31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon), of whom 47.4% were male and
52.6% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.36
percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 25.7
percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent
(minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Venice
residents is 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years
between 2002 and 2007, the population of Venice declined by 0.2 percent,
while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.[50]
But the population in the historic old city declines at a significantly
faster rate: from about 120,000 in 1980 to about 60,000 in 2009.[51]
As of 2009, 91% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant
group comes from other European nations (Romanians,
the largest group: 3%, South Asia: 1.3%, and East Asia: 0.9%). Venice is
predominantly Roman Catholic, but because of the long standing
relationship with Constantinople there is also a perceptible Orthodox
presence, and as a result of immigration it now has some Muslim,
Hindu and
Buddhist inhabitants.
There is also a historic
Jewish Community in Venice. The
Venetian Ghetto was the area in which Jews were compelled to live
under the Venetian Republic. It is from its name, in the
Venetian language, that the word "ghetto",
used in many languages, is derived.
William Shakespeare's play
The Merchant of Venice, probably written in the late 16th
century, features
Shylock, a Venetian Jew and his family. Venice also has an
eruv,[52]
built for and still used by the Jewish community.
Municipal
administration
Venice's City Council is composed by 45 members.
Of six boroughs into which Venice is divided, five are governed by
centre-left coalition and one by centre-right coalition.
The current mayor of Venice,
Giorgio Orsoni, has been elected in March 2010. He has been also
Assessore since 2000 to 2005 and councilior of the
Venice Biennale since 2000 to 2003.
Culture
Cinema and Venice in popular culture and media
Venice has been the setting or chosen location of numerous films,
novels, poems and other cultural references. The city was a particularly
popular setting for novels, essays, and other works of fictional or
non-fictional literature. Examples of these include
Shakespeare's
Merchant of Venice and
Othello,
Ben
Jonson's
Volpone,
Voltaire's
Candide,
Casanova's autobiographical History of My Life,
Anne
Rice's
Cry to Heaven, and
Philippe Sollers'
Watteau in Venice.
Thomas Mann's 1912 novella,
Death in Venice, has served as the basis for an opera (Benjamin
Britten's
Death in Venice), a film (Visconti's
Death in Venice) and a cocktail (Death
in Venice). The city has also been a setting for numerous other
films, including three entries in the
James Bond series:
From Russia with Love,
Moonraker and
Casino Royale, and many others such as: 2010's
The Tourist,
Summertime starring
Katharine Hepburn,
Fellini's Casanova,
Nicolas Roeg's
Don't Look Now,
The Wings of the Dove,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,
A Little Romance,
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and
The Talented Mr. Ripley. The city has also been the setting for
music videos such as
Siouxsie and the Banshees'
Dear Prudence and
Madonna's
Like a Virgin, as well as in the video games
Tomb Raider II and
Assassin's Creed II.
Architecture
Venice has a rich and
diverse
architectural style, the most famous of which is the
Gothic style.
Venetian Gothic architecture is a term given to a Venetian building
style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with
Byzantine and
Ottoman influences. The style originated in 14th-century Venice,
where the confluence of
Byzantine style from
Constantinople met Arab influence from
Moorish Spain. Chief examples of the style are the
Doge's Palace and the
Ca'
d'Oro in the city. The city also has several
Renaissance and
Baroque
buildings, including the
Ca'
Pesaro and the
Ca' Rezzonico.
Music
and the performing arts
The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the
development of the
music of Italy. The Venetian state – i.e., the medieval
Maritime Republic of Venice – was often popularly called the
"Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is
said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical
instrument or singing. There is music everywhere."[53]
During the 16th century, Venice became one of the most important
musical centers of Europe, marked by a characteristic style of
composition (the
Venetian school) and the development of the
Venetian polychoral style under composers such as
Adrian Willaert, who worked at
St Mark's Basilica. Venice was the early center of music printing;
Ottaviano Petrucci began publishing music almost as soon as this
technology was available, and his publishing enterprise helped to
attract composers from all over Europe, especially from France and
Flanders. By the end of the century, Venice was famous for the
splendor of its music, as exemplified in the "colossal style" of
Andrea and
Giovanni Gabrieli, which used multiple choruses and instrumental
groups. Venice was also the home of many famous composers during the
baroque period, such as
Antonio Vivaldi,
Ippolito Ciera,
Giovanni Picchi, and
Girolamo Dalla Casa, to name but a few.
Interior design
It can be argued that Venice produced the best and most refined
Rococo designs. At the time, Venice was in a state of trouble. It had
lost most of its maritime power, was lagging behind its rivals in
political importance, and society had become decadent, with nobles
wasting their money in gambling and partying. But Venice remained
Italy's fashion capital, and was a serious contender to Paris in terms
of wealth, architecture, luxury, taste, sophistication, trade,
decoration, style, and design.[54]
Venetian Rococo was well known for being rich and luxurious, with
usually very extravagant designs. Unique Venetian furniture, such as the
divani da portego, or long Rococo couches and pozzetti,
objects meant to be placed against the wall. Venetian bedrooms were
usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask, velvet, and silk drapery
and curtains, a beautifully carved Rococo beds with statues of putti,
flowers and angels.[54]
Venice was especially famous for its beautiful girandole mirrors, which
remained among, if not, the finest in Europe. Chandeliers were usually
very colourful, using
Murano glass to make them look more vibrant and stand out from
others, and precious stones and materials from abroad were used, since
Venice still held a vast trade empire. Lacquer was very common, and many
items of furniture were covered with it, the most famous being lacca
povera (poor lacuqer), in which allegories and images of social life
were painted. Lacquerwork and
Chinoiserie were particularly common in bureau cabinets.[55]
Fashion and
shopping
In the 14th century, many young Venetian men began wearing
tight-fitting multicoloured hose, the designs on which indicated the
Compagnie della Calza ("Trouser Club") to which they belonged. The
Venetian Senate passed
sumptuary laws, but these merely resulted in changes in fashion in
order to circumvent the law. Dull garments were worn over colourful
ones, which then were cut to show the hidden colours resulting in the
wide spread of men's "slashed" fashions in the 15th century.
Today, Venice is also a major fashion and shopping centre in Italy,
not as important as
Milan,
Florence, or Rome, but par to
Turin,
Vicenza,
Naples,
and Genoa.
Roberta di Camerino is the only major Italian fashion brand to be
based out of Venice.[56]
Founded in 1945, it is renowned for its innovative handbags featuring
hardware by Venetian artisans and often covered in locally woven velvet,
and has been credited with creating the concept of the easily
recognisable
status bag.[56]
Many of the fashion boutiques and jewelry shops in the city are located
in the
Rialto Bridge and the
Piazza San Marco. At the current time, there are
Louis Vuitton and
Ermenegildo Zegna flagship stores operating in the city.
Cuisine
Hot chocolate was a fashionable drink in Venice during the
1770s and 1780s.
Venetian cuisine is characterized by seafood, but also includes
garden products from the islands of the lagoon, rice from the mainland,
game, and
polenta. Venice combines local traditions with influences that are
distant from millennial business contacts. These include sarde in
saor, sardines marinated in order to preserve them for long voyages;
risi e bisi, rice, peas and ham; fegato alla veneziana,
Venetian-style liver; risotto with cuttlefish, blackened from the ink;
cicchetti, refined and delicious tidbits (akin to tapas);
antipasti, appetizers; and
prosecco, an effervescent, mildly sweet wine.
In addition, Venice is famous for bisàto (marinated eel), for
the golden, oval-shaped cookies called
baicoli,
and for different types of sweets such as: pan del pescatore
(bread of the fisherman); cookies with almonds and pistachio nuts;
cookies with fried Venetian cream or the bussolai (butter
biscuits and
shortbread made in the shape of an "S" or ring) from the island of
Burano; the crostoli also known as the chatter, lies, or
galani; the fregolotta (a crumbly cake with almonds); milk
pudding called rosada; and cookies of yellow semolina called
zaléti.
Languages and
dialects
the municipality is italophone ( there are no linguistic minirities )
and the population is all italian - speaking. however, apart from
italian, venetian dialect is spoken by the great majority of the
population.
Literature
Portrait of Giacomo Casanova
Venice has long been a source of inspiration for authors, poets and
playwrights as well as being at the forefront of the technical
developing of printing and publishing.
Two of the most famous Venetian writers were
Marco Polo in the Middle Ages and later
Giacomo Casanova. Polo (1254–1324) was a merchant who voyaged to
the Orient. His series of books, co-written by
Rustichello da Pisa, titled
Il Milione provided important knowledge of the lands east of
Europe, from the Middle East, to China, Japan and Russia.
Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) was a prolific writer and famous
adventurer best remembered for his autobiography, Histoire De Ma Vie
(Story of My Life), which links his colourful lifestyle to the city of
Venice.
Venetian playwrights followed the old Italian theatre tradition of
Commedia dell'arte.
Ruzante (1502–1542) and
Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) used the Venetian dialect extensively in
their comedies.
book printed by Aldus Manutius
Venice has also inspired writers from abroad. Shakespeare set
Othello
and
The Merchant of Venice in the city.
Thomas Mann authored the novel
Death in Venice, published in 1912. Venice inspired the poetry
of
Ezra Pound, who wrote his first literary work in the city. Pound
died in 1972 and his remains are buried in Venice's cemetery island of
San Michele. The French writer
Philippe Sollers spent most of his life in Venice and published A
Dictionary For Lovers Of Venice in 2004.
Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827) born in
Zante,
an island that at the time belonged to the Republic of Venice, was also
a famous poet and
revolutionary who wanted to see a free republic established in
Venice following the fall to
Napoleon. The city features prominently in Henry James'
The Wings of the Dove and is also visited in Evelyn Waugh's
Brideshead Revisited and Marcel Proust's
In Search of Lost Time.
Venice is also linked to the technological aspects of writing. The
city was the location for one of Italy's earliest printing presses,
established by
Aldus Manutius (1449–1515).[citation
needed] From this beginning Venice developed as an
important typographic center and even as late as the 18th century was
responsible for printing half of Italy's published books.[citation
needed]
Art and printing
An 18th century view of Venice by Venetian artist
Canaletto.
Venice, especially during the
Middle Ages,
Renaissance and
Baroque,
was a major centre of art and developed a unique style known as the
Venetian School. In the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance, Venice,
along with
Florence and Rome, became one of the most important centres of art
in Europe, and numerous wealthy Venetians became patrons of the arts.
Venice at the time was a rich and prosperous
Maritime Republic, which controlled a vast sea and trade empire.[57]
By the end of the 15th century, Venice had become the European
capital of printing, being one of the first cities in Italy (after
Subiaco and Rome) to have a printing press after those established in
Germany, having 417 printers by 1500. The most important printing office
was the
Aldine Press of
Aldus Manutius, which in 1499 printed the
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, considered the most beautiful book of
Renaissance, and established modern
punctuation, the page format and
italic type, and the first printed work of
Aristotle.
In the 16th century Venetian painting was developed through
influences from the Paduan School and
Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of
the van Eyck brothers. It is signified by a warm colour scale and a
picturesque use of colour. Early masters where the Bellini and Vivarini
families, followed by
Giorgione and
Titian,
then
Tintoretto and
Veronese. In the early 16th century, also, there was rivalry between
whether Venetian painting should use disegno or colorito.[58]
Canvases
(the common painting surface) originated in Venice during the early
renaissance. These early canvases were generally rough.
In the 18th century Venetian painting had a renaissance because of
Tiepolo's decorative painting and
Canaletto's and
Guardi's panoramic views.
Glass
Venice is famous for its ornate glass-work, known as
Venetian glass. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate,
and skilfully made.
Many of the important characteristics of these objects had been
developed by the 13th century. Toward the end of that century, the
center of the Venetian glass industry moved to
Murano.
Byzantine craftsmen played an important role in the development of
Venetian glass, an art form for which the city is well-known. When
Constantinople was sacked by the
Fourth Crusade in 1204, some fleeing artisans came to Venice. This
happened again when the
Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, supplying Venice with still
more glassworkers. By the 16th century, Venetian artisans had gained
even greater control over the color and transparency of their glass, and
had mastered a variety of decorative techniques.
Despite efforts to keep Venetian glassmaking techniques within
Venice, they became known elsewhere, and Venetian-style glassware was
produced in other Italian cities and other countries of Europe.
Some of the most important brands of glass in the world today are
still produced in the historical glass factories on Murano. They are:
Venini,
Barovier & Toso,
Pauly, Millevetri, Seguso.[59]
Barovier & Toso is considered one of the 100
oldest companies in the world, formed in 1295.
One of the most renowned types of
Venetian glasses are made in
Murano,
known as
Murano glass, which has been a famous product of the Venetian island
of Murano for centuries. Located off the shore of Venice, Italy, Murano
was a commercial port as far back as the 7th century. By the 10th
century it had become a well-known city of trade. Today Murano remains a
destination for tourists and art and jewellery lovers alike.
Festivals
The
Carnival of Venice is held annually in the city, starting around two
weeks before
Ash Wednesday and ends on
Shrove Tuesday. The carnival is closely associated with
Venetian masks.
The
Venice Biennale is one of the most important events in the arts
calendar. During 1893 headed by the mayor of Venice, Riccardo Selvatico,
the Venetian City Council passed a resolution on 19 April to set up an
Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale (biennial exhibition of Italian
art), to be inaugurated on 22 April 1895.[60]
Following the outbreak of hostilities during the Second World War, the
activities of the Biennale were interrupted in September 1942, but
resumed in 1948.[61]
The
Festa del Redentore is held in mid July. It began as a feast to give
thanks for the end of the terrible plague of 1576. A bridge of barges is
built connecting Giudecca to the rest of Venice, and fireworks play an
important role.
The
Venice Film Festival (Italian
Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di
Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by
Count
Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the "Esposizione
Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken
place every year in late August or early September on the island of the
Lido, Venice, Italy. Screenings take place in the historic
Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the
world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice
Biennale.
Foreign words of Venetian origin
Words with a Venetian etymology include
arsenal,
ciao,
ghetto,
gondola,
imbroglio,
lagoon,
lazaret,
lido,
Montenegro,
quarantine,
regatta. The name of
Venezuela is a Spanish diminutive of Venice. Many other places
around the world are named after Venice, e.g.
Venice Beach.
Notable people
For people from Venice, see
People from Venice. Others closely associated with the city
include:
-
Enrico Dandolo (c. 1107, 1205),
Doge of Venice from 1192 to his death. He played a direct role
in the
Sack of Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade.
-
Marco Polo (15 September 1254 – 8 January 1324), trader and
explorer, one of the first Westerners to travel the
Silk Road to China. While a prisoner in Genoa, he dictated in
the tale of his travels known as Il Milione (The
Travels of Marco Polo).
-
Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516), a Renaissance painter, probably
the best known of the Bellini family of painters.
-
Aldus Manutius (1449–1515), one of the most important printers
in history.
-
Pietro Bembo (20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547),
cardinal and scholar.
-
Lorenzo Lotto (c.1480 – Loreto, 1556), painter, draughtsman, and
illustrator, traditionally placed in the
Venetian school.
-
Sebastian Cabot (c. 1484–1557, or soon after),
explorer.
-
Pellegrino Ernetti, Catholic priest and exorcist
-
Titian (c. 1488–90 – 27 August 1576), leader of the
16th-century Venetian school of the
Italian Renaissance (he was born in
Pieve
di Cadore).
-
Sebastiano Venier, (c. 1496 – 3 March 1578),
Doge of Venice from 11 June 1577 to 1578.
-
Andrea Gabrieli (c.1510–1586), Italian composer and organist at
St Mark's Basilica
-
Tintoretto (1518 – 31 May 1594), probably the last great painter
of Italian Renaissance.
-
Veronica Franco (1546–1591), poet and courtesan during the
Renaissance
-
Giovanni Gabrieli (between 1554 and 1557–1612), composer and
organist at St Mark's Basilica
-
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), composer and director of music
at
San Marco
-
Leon Modena (1571–1648) preacher, author, poet, active in the
Venetian ghetto and beyond
-
Marco Antonio Bragadin (d.1571), general, flayed alive by the
Turks after a fierce resistance during the siege of
Famagusta
-
Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682), one of the
greatest exponents of Baroque architecture.
-
Francesco Cavalli (14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676), a
baroque composer
-
Pietro Cesare Alberti (1608–1655), considered the first
Italian-American, arriving in New Amsterdam in 1635.
-
Tomaso Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751), a
baroque composer
-
Rosalba Carriera (7 October 1675 – 15 April 1757), known for her
pastel works.
-
Antonio Vivaldi (4 March 1678, 28 July (or 27), 1741,
Vienna),
famous composer and violinist of the Baroque Era
-
Pietro Guarneri (14 April 1695 – 7 April 1762) left Cremona in
1718, settled in Venice. "Peter of Venice" from the family of great
luthiers.
-
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), the
last "Grand Manner" fresco painter from the Venetian Republic.
-
Canaletto (28 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), famous for his
landscapes or
vedute
of Venice, but not only.
-
Carlo Goldoni (25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793). Along with
Pirandello, Goldoni is probably the most famous name in Italian
theatre, in his country and abroad.
-
Frederick Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), English author
of the Venetian novel The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole.
-
Carlo Gozzi (13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806), an excellent
dramatist of 18th century.
-
Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798), in
Dux,
Bohemia, (now
Duchcov, Czech Republic), a famous Venetian adventurer, writer
and
womanizer.
-
Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749–1838), opera librettist and poet. He
wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
-
Virgilio Ranzato (7 May 1883 – 20 April 1937), Composer.
-
Carlo Scarpa (2 June 1906 – 1978,
Sendai, Japan), an architect with a profound understanding of
materials.
-
Emilio Vedova (9 August 1919 – 25 October 2006), one of the most
important modern painters of Italy
-
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684),
the first woman in the world to receive a doctorate degree.
-
Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973), an
Italian-German orchestra director and 20th-century music composer.
-
Luigi Nono (29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990), a leading composer of
instrumental and electronic music.
-
Ludovico de Luigi (November 1933), Venetian Surrealistic artist.
-
Giuseppe Sinopoli (2 November 1946 – 20 April 2001), conductor
and composer.
-
Romano Scarpa (27 September 1927, Venice – 23 April 2005,
Málaga), was one of the most famous Italian creators of Disney
comics.
-
Francesco Borgato (5 September 1990, Venice), is an Italian
recording artist and dancer.
International
relations
The City of Venice and the Central Association of Cities and
Communities of Greece (KEDKE) established, in January 2000, in pursuance
of the EC Regulations n. 2137/85, the European Economic Interest
Grouping (E.E.I.G.)
Marco Polo System to promote and realise European projects within
transnational cultural and tourist field, particularly referred to the
artistic and architectural heritage preservation and safeguard.