So what is Venice worth?? How does this miracle city manage to float on water for centuries? How deep are Venetian canals? How were Venetian palaces built? These are the questions that arose for many who read the article about. Also, these same questions are asked by everyone who has visited this city on the water.

I found very entertaining video on YouTube, which provides answers to these and many other similar questions. The only downside to this video is the fact that it is in Italian and, by the way, is used in Italian language tests.

The basis for the construction of Venetian buildings is wooden piles, the number of which was required for the construction of Venice over a million. For the Rialto Bridge alone, over 30 thousand piles were used.

Rialto Venice

What kind of wood are the piles made of in Venice?

Venetian piles required only special wood, namely oak and larch. Because only these tree species have the necessary margin of strength and resistance to adverse influences. These trees were floated to Venice because they did not grow in the immediate area.

Depth of canals in Venice

In order to see how deep the canals in Venice are, it is enough to wait for the period of their shallowing, which has been used for several years now both to clean the bottom of the canals and to restore ancient medieval Venetian palazzos.

As we see in the film, The depth of the channels is not great at all.She reaches 2.5, maximum 3 meters. Only the Grand Canal in some places reaches a depth of 6 meters.

Grand Canal in Venice

In the film you can see fountains gushing out from the walls of houses (which are usually under water). This is the water that the building draws into itself when it is under water.

In the last part of the film, we find ourselves at the excavations of one of the Venetian suburbs in order to discover the most important secret of the construction of Venice, and also to understand Why are piles (even made of high-strength wood) resistant to destruction and rotting?.

Here are piles that were installed here at the time when Christopher Columbus set out to discover America. As you can see, they are quite alive and not even very destroyed.

So what is the main secret?

Piles of Venice

And the secret lies in the type Venetian mud which the local soil is rich in. It is these muds that fit the pile so tightly that block the access of oxygen to it, and accordingly prevent the penetration of animals and insects, corrosion from water and natural destruction.

Thanks to these muds, which stuck to the pile 7-8 meters deep, it remains intact and unharmed, and can serve for centuries. As we see in the film, only the top part of the pile which opens into open space, susceptible to aging.

How buildings were built in Venice

For construction Venetian buildings, the piles were buried 7-8 meters deep into the mud until it reached solid soil, into which it was driven to a certain depth. Then the logs were laid on top of the wooden piles in an intersecting manner.

This method gave maximum stability and allowed the mass of the building to be evenly distributed around the entire perimeter. Either brickwork was made on top of the wooden logs, or marble slabs were laid.

Items found at these excavations allow scientists to assert that in Venice, since the time of Marco Polo, there existed separate waste collection and. Which has just begun to be introduced in our countries.

Eh... we still lag behind mother Europe... 🙁

Also, the excavations gave scientists a lot samples of glass, pottery, and Chinese ceramics that were found here. It is believed that the samples of Chinese ceramics found here are the oldest in Europe.

Venice is still fraught with many secrets and mysteries., which generations of our descendants will have the opportunity to discover.

I can't help but highly recommend interesting excursions in Venice from local residents. All excursions are in RUSSIAN! For this article, I specially selected the most thematic excursions that will help you not only see everything you read in practice, but also tell and show Venice from completely unexpected angles.

The formation of a city on the water and its history

Brief chronology

According to legend, Venice arose in 421, but many contemporaries question this date and believe that it is hardly possible to accurately indicate the time of the formation of the city. The Veneti tribe lived on the islands on which the city is now located, 1000 years before the new era.

The first historical information about a settlement on the site of present-day Venice dates back to 452. Its emergence is associated with the invasion of Northern Italy by hordes of Huns led by Attila, when the inhabitants of the mainland were forced to seek salvation on the Adriatic islands.

VI–X centuries - the beginning of the reign of the Doges. Through skillful diplomatic maneuvers, they managed to maintain relative independence, without falling under the rule of either Byzantium or the empire of Charlemagne. In 809, Rialtina, an archipelago of 118 islands on both sides of the Grand Canal, became the center of settlement in the Laguna. And in the 10th century the name Venice was first mentioned.

In 1000, Doge Pietro Orcelo II consolidated Venice's dominion over the Adriatic. This significant event is celebrated annually with the celebration of Festa della Sense (“wedding with the sea”).

In 1172, the Venetian aristocracy and wealthy merchant families created the Great Council in an effort to limit the power of the Doge. By the end of the 13th century, the Venetian nobility took a decisive and irreversible step towards establishing its collective power to the detriment of the doge's autocracy.

In 1298, the so-called closure of the Great Council took place, that is, from now on only those Venetians whose paternal ancestors had already sat on this council could be its members and take part in the elections of the Doge. At different times, the council included from 35 to 2000 members.

In 1203–1204, the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders, supported by Venice, helps lay the foundations of a powerful Venetian trading empire. After the division of Byzantium, Venice gets most of the islands in the Aegean Sea, as well as the islands of Corfu and Crete.

In 1297, the Venetian Republic arose, which at its core was the power of an aristocratic oligarchy. An active struggle at this time took place between Venice and Genoa for trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea.

1423–1457 - the reign of Doge Francesco Foscari, during which the greatest territorial expansion of the Venetian state took place. His possessions extended from the Alps to the Po River and to Bergamo in the west. Even Cyprus came under the rule of Venice.

The Venetian fleet consisted of 3,000 ships, and trade with other countries was carried out by 300 large ships. At that time, Venice was called “the mistress of all the gold of Christendom.”

In 1453–1476, as a result of the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, part of the Venetian possessions passed to them. Fearing Turkish expansion, the Venetians themselves attacked the Turks, but were defeated and lost part of their territories.

In 1499, Venice began to decline as a major European trading power. Age of the Greats geographical discoveries was marked by the strengthening of the positions of other European states, which are gradually beginning to displace Venice from its traditional trade routes.

In 1500, Vasco da Gama opens the route to India. The trade monopoly of the Venetians is threatened by merchants from the East.

In 1508, the Pope, German, Spanish and French monarchs unite to undermine the Venetian Empire.

In the 70s of the 16th century, Venice again entered into war with the Turks and lost Cyprus.

In the 17th century, the power of the Venetian Republic suffered significant blows. The Habsburgs began intensive development of the trading harbor in Trieste. In the war with Austria, Venice supported the French, but at this very time a terrible plague epidemic began, as a result of which about 50,000 city residents died in a year and a half.

In 1796, the invasion of the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte into the borders of the Venetian Republic marked its decline.

In 1797, the Great Council announced the abolition of the Venetian Republic. Soldiers of the Napoleonic army rule the city, many valuables are transported to France. However, in the fall of the same year, France cedes the city and the entire province to Austria. Venice forever loses its independence, and its Arsenal, once the world's largest shipbuilding center, falls into disrepair and is used only for ship repairs.

After Austria's defeat at Austerlitz on December 2, 1815, the French recaptured Venice, and Eugene de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, Napoleon's stepson, became the city's ruler.

Since 1846, Venice has ceased to be an island. The construction of the Milan-Venice railway was completed, and the “Queen of the Adriatic” was connected to the mainland by a four-kilometer bridge.

In 1848, along with the rest of Italy, the Venetians rebelled against the Austrians.

In 1866, Venice voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Italy, led by Vittorio Emmanuel II.

In 1926, Mestre, a suburb of Venice, received independent status.

During the Second World War, Venice and Mestre became the largest military-industrial centers for Mussolini, but this did not entail bombing by allied aircraft.

In 1966, an event in the history of Venice was a catastrophic flood, when the water level rose by 2 m. This natural disaster attracted attention and concern throughout the world. After it, the Italian government and UNESCO allocated considerable funds for repair work and protective measures to prevent flooding in the city.

Historical Retrospection

The historic center of Venice is located among the Venetian Lagoon of the Adriatic Sea, on 118 low sandy islands, connected by countless bridges and bridges and closely built up with ancient houses. This unusual location of the city is explained by its origin.

Before its founding, the area of ​​the future Venice included several Roman cities: Aquileia, founded in 181 BC. e., Opitergius (modern Oderzo), Tarvisius (modern Treviso), Altinus (modern Altino), Patavius ​​(modern Padua), etc.

In 452, when the fading Western Roman Empire had already lost its military power, Aquileia and other areas of the Venetian region were captured and plundered by the Huns, led by the formidable Attila.

Part of the local population fled in horror to the islands of the lagoon around Rialto (meaning " Highland") to escape from the conquerors. Here since time immemorial there have been modest huts of fishermen, salt miners and waterfowl hunters.

During the early Middle Ages island population was replenished with refugees from Parma, Mantua, Ferrara, Florence, Bologna, Ravenna, Pisa and many other cities not only in Italy, but also in the Eastern Adriatic.

In 568, when Italy was subjected to a devastating invasion of the Lombards, Patriarch Paulinus, with all the shrines and church treasures, fled from Aquileia and settled with his patriarchate on small island Grando, then moved to the islands and bishoprics of other cities.

In order to build the city, the builders had to divert the flow of several rivers - the Piave, the Sila, the Brenta.

The boundless sea, the vast sky and small flat islands - this is the minimum of natural bounties that fate has bestowed on Venice. And since there was a very large population, and little land, every tree became a luxury item, which was allowed to grow where something could be built.

There is a legend about the solemn founding of the city. On March 25, 413, at noon, the settlers founded the first building on the banks of the Rialto with the goal of establishing an impregnable stronghold in this place. Antonio Sabellico, celebrating this event, makes the priest who consecrated the city exclaim, turning to heaven: “When we have dared to do great things, send us a blessing. We have now knelt before the poor altar, but if our prayers were not in vain, then in this place a hundred temples of marble and gold will be erected to You, O God.”

Many more centuries will pass before people strengthen the unstable soil of the islands with an innumerable number of piles from the Dalmatian forest and build numerous houses and palaces, churches from stone taken from the Adriatic coast, so that the fabulously beautiful city will glorify the ancient Veneti tribe with its name.

The most luminous, the pearl of the Adriatic, Southern Palmyra - they called Venice as many names as they could to express admiration for the creative genius of the Italian people.

The ancient history of the city on the islands is shrouded in mystery, because for a long time people lived there quietly, poorly and inconspicuously. They were surrounded by water and sky, and there was so little land that their whole life was connected with the sea.

It fed them with fish and other gifts, and also opened the way for them to other countries; they learned to sail the sea, build ships (at that time forests grew on their flat islands, of which nothing remains now) and engaged in intermediary trade between Europe and the East.

The early history of the city on the lagoon has not reached our time, except in historical monuments traces of it can be found in ancient churches.

It is known that in the 12th century in Italy the center of the Byzantine possessions (exarchate) was Ravenna ( ancient city, founded by the Etruscans, when the Western Roman Empire came to its decline). The islands of the lagoon were subordinate to the exarchate.

At the end of the 12th century, the Byzantines united them into a duchy. The residence of the Duke (in Venetian he is called Doge) became the island of Heraclea (it is also called Cittanova - “new city”).

At first, doges were appointed by the authorities from Ravenna, then the islanders themselves began to choose them. Here, on the island of Heraclea, there were political and military centers. Religious - on Grando, shopping - on Torcello. Subsequently, for the sake of security, the political center was moved to Malamocco, a more protected island in the lagoon.

At the beginning of the 9th century, the government residence was moved to the group of islands of Rivoalto, or Rialto, where the city began to develop, which later received the name Venice. The first Doge to settle on the Rialto was Agnellus Parteciac (811–827). At the same time, the Bishopric of Olivolo was formed here.

From this time begins the thousand-year history of the Venetian Republic under the auspices of St. Mark, proclaimed at that time its heavenly patron.

Venice's path to future wealth and power was not easy. But already in the middle of the 9th century, the Venetians were able to prove that they were able to turn their city into a flourishing land, benefiting from literally nothing.

Thus, in 869, the Doge of Venice, Justinian Partecipazio, left among his other property 1,200 pounds of silver - a considerable amount at that time. Venice, with its sixty islands and islets, was a special world, a refuge, but inconvenient: no fresh water, no food resources, and salt, too much salt! They said about the Venetian then: “He does not plow, does not sow, does not harvest grapes.”

Even several centuries later, Doge Giovanni Soranzo described his town as follows: “Built in the sea, completely devoid of vineyards and cultivated fields.”

From the very beginning, Venice was forced to demand everything in exchange for the sake of survival: wheat or millet, rye or cattle, cheeses or vegetables, wine or butter, timber or stone, and even drinking water.

Venice developed its activity in industry, trade, and services, that is, where the profitability of labor was higher than in rural activities. This meant that she had to leave less profitable occupations to others, but from the first steps all cities without real territory, including Venice, were condemned to live in this way. They had no other choice. The luck of Venice, perhaps, lay in the fact that it did not need, like Genoa and Pisa, to resort to violence and piracy in order to gain a place in the sun.

For several centuries, Venice was closely linked with Byzantium in political and economic relations.

Venice, as ties between East and West developed, successfully took advantage of its unique economic and geographical position and gradually turned into a powerful maritime republic.

In the 9th–10th centuries, Venice was part of Byzantium and managed to benefit from this, remaining practically independent. In the 10th century it gained complete independence.

Under the rule of the Greek Empire, Venice penetrated the huge and poorly defended Byzantine market, provided numerous services to the empire and even helped its defense. In exchange, she received great privileges, for example, from 1082 she was exempt from any payments.

The geographical location and historical conditions of the development of Venice influenced the formation of the unique appearance of the city. Venice is built up very densely, its streets are narrow, its squares are small, its numerous canals do not have embankments, and the facades of the houses seem to have grown out of the water. For a long time, the main square of St. Mark was cramped by vineyards, buildings, and cut in two by a canal. The streets were unpaved, the bridges were wooden, as were the houses.

The entrances to the buildings are located right next to the water, and you can enter via the steps and land directly on the gondola. There is no greenery in the city center; there are gardens only on the outskirts, on the neighboring islands.

In the 10th century, Venice became a major city conducting intermediary trade, and for the first time took measures to regulate the slave trade, one of the most important sources of income. The city had its own nobility - mainly wealthy owners of merchant ships, saltworks and various workshops. The sea ensured the economic homogeneity of the Venetian patriciate, and this, in turn, ensured the internal political stability of the city.

Unlike other states of Italy, in Venice there were never serious disputes between the propertied, which would have a detrimental effect on the position of the city. Venice also found itself free from the civil strife that tormented the rest of Italy. The workshops organized here did not acquire political significance, as in Florence, but remained purely production associations. 142 Venetian workshops were under the strict control of the nobility.

The Venetians also engaged in agriculture within the limited limits provided by stingy fortune. For example, it is known that the island of Cuja at the turn of the 9th–10th centuries was obliged to supply 60 chickens and two ships loaded with hay to the Doge’s court.

In the 11th–12th centuries, Venice received huge profits from the campaign of the Crusaders, to whom it provided a fleet.

The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) occupies a special place in the history of Venice. It was started at the call of Pope Innocent III. Initially, its participants intended to sail to the East to liberate the Holy Sepulcher from the power of Muslims, and then move to Egypt, take possession of it, and only then go to Jerusalem. However, the campaign ended with the capture of Constantinople and the defeat of the Byzantine Empire.

The decisive role in changing the direction of the campaign was played by Venice, to which, not having its own fleet, the crusaders turned. The merchant elite, who stood at the head of the Venetian Republic, decided to take advantage of this to strengthen their own positions in Byzantium.

The Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo, by that time a ninety-year-old man, who had almost lost his sight due to an old wound to the head, but in politics saw everything through and through no worse than a sighted person, demanded a huge sum for services at that time - 85 thousand marks in silver for transporting 4500 knights to Egypt with horses, 9,000 shield-bearers and 20,000 infantry.

The crusaders unexpectedly quickly agreed to these conditions. Then the insightful doge brought everyone to one island, took the ships aside and demanded payment in advance. But it soon became clear that the crusaders were not able to contribute the entire amount. The crusade army did not have the required amount of money (34,000 was missing).

Then Dandolo, wanting to prevent a campaign against Egypt, with which the Venetians carried out regular trade, offered the crusaders, as compensation for unpaid money, to help Venice conquer the Dalmatian city of Zadar - a large trading center on east coast Adriatic Sea, competing with Venetian merchants.

In 1202, Zadar was captured by hordes of crusaders, inspired by the far-sighted Doge, who, despite his age, was distinguished by great physical strength and himself led the fleet. For the capture of Zadar, Pope Innocent III, the inspirer of the Crusade, excommunicated the Venetians and the Crusaders, who shamefully forgot their high goals. But the anger of the “vicar of God on earth” did not have the desired effect on Enrique Dandolo, a sane and courageous man.

And the latter, having entered into an agreement with the leader of the crusaders - the Italian Marquis Boniface of Montferrat - sent troops and a fleet to Constantinople. The pretext for the attack on the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire was the appeal to the pope and the German king of Tsarevich Alexei Angel, the son of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angel, overthrown from the throne by his brother, blinded and imprisoned back in 1195.

Boniface of Montferrat was secretly supported by the French king Philip II Augustus and some magnates of France and the German Empire, who hoped to benefit from the war in Byzantium. Pope Innocent III, having received a promise from Tsarevich Alexei that if the enterprise was successful, the Greek Church would be subordinated to the “apostolic throne,” in fact assisted the leaders of the crusaders in the implementation of their plans, although he officially forbade them to cause damage to Christian lands.

But the crusaders did not heed the requests of Tsarevich Alexei, especially since the most influential forces in Europe at that time were pushing them to capture Byzantium. The Venetian Doge Enrique Dandolo also planned to receive considerable benefits from the campaign to the East.

Having besieged Constantinople in the summer of 1203, the crusaders achieved the restoration of Emperor Isaac II to the throne. But when he was unable to pay them the full amount promised for help, the crusaders took the city by storm in April 1204 and subjected it to a brutal defeat. Entire neighborhoods were set on fire, and the Church of Hagia Sophia was mercilessly plundered.

After the fall of Constantinople, half of the Byzantine Empire was captured. The Venetians received their benefits after Eastern Rome suffered significant damage. The Venetians established colonies in a number of places that had once belonged to the weakened empire, stretching from the Ionian to the Black Seas.

These territories were called Latin Romagna (since in Western Europe Byzantium was often called Romania). Latin Romagnia included the Latin Empire with its capital in Constantinople and the Frankish state in the Balkans, as well as the possessions of the Venetian Republic, which it received from the crusaders who owed it.

Clever and greedy Venice captured an entire quarter in Constantinople, a significant part of the former Byzantine possessions on the coast of Southern and Eastern Greece with Crete and several islands in addition. The Doge of Venice began to be called “the ruler of a quarter and half a quarter of the Roman (that is, Byzantine) Empire.” Enrique Dandolo died in 1205 and was buried in the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Large areas of the Adriatic and Mediterranean, trade routes with Persia and India, Syria and Egypt came under the rule of Venice; connections were established with Novgorod. Venice was even compared to this city in Rus' in terms of the number of trade operations and the dominance of the merchant people.

Venice truly became a trading empire. In the 13th century, one priest spoke of the energetic islanders as follows: “The Venetians are greedy, stubborn and superstitious people; they would like to take over the whole world if they could."

Many trade centers in those years became centers of crafts and arts. Examples of this are Bukhara, Samarkand and both Novgorods. But it is unlikely that anywhere it was possible to create such a concentration of arts as in Venice, when every house is a spectacle, every street is a sketch, every canal is a mood.

In 1155, Frederick I, the German emperor, called Barbarossa (Redbeard) by the Italians, undertook the first campaign in Italy to receive the imperial crown in Rome and subjugate the free Italian communes to the feudal power of the emperor. From this moment began a twenty-year period of struggle of Italian cities - communes - for their independence from the feudal enslaver. In the lands of Verona and Venice, German feudal lords disrupted the movement of goods to markets, which dealt a heavy blow to the trade and industry of these cities.

Venice suffered especially great losses not only along the line of communication with the East, but with the whole of Northern Italy, since mountain crossings and trade routes were in the hands of the German feudal authorities. The freedom-loving Republic of St. Mark, which lived by trade, could not put up with this. And Venice organized a military league, which included Verona, Padua, and Vincenza. Thanks to joint efforts, it was possible to defeat Barbarossa's army.

In the 13th century, the long-standing rivalry between Venice and Genoa, as well as the large Slavic city-republic of Dubrovnik, intensified. Displacing Genoa from the Northern Black Sea region, Venice conducted brisk trade with ports Crimean coast, and through Tana (now Azov) - with the entire south of Russia.

In 1278, Genoa defeated the Venetian fleet off the island of Korcula. In August 1379, she took possession of Chiuge, a small fishing harbor that commanded one of the outlets from the Venetian lagoon to the Adriatic. It seemed that the proud city of St. Mark was dying, but with incredible effort he turned the situation around.

In June 1380, Vettor Pisani retook Chiugia and defeated the Genoese fleet. Thus, in the 14th century, Venice crushed its longtime rival in eastern trade - Genoa - and became the strongest maritime and colonial power with the largest fleet in Europe, huge wealth accumulated over centuries, a unique state organization, which was based on the concentration of power in the hands of trade -merchant oligarchy.

At this time, the famous French politician Philippe de Commines called Venice “the most victorious city” he had ever seen.

One of Venice's advantages in its confrontation with Genoa was that it acted more prudently, took fewer risks, and geographical position it was quite obviously in her favour. Leaving the lagoon, you can get to the Adriatic, and for the Venetian this meant still staying at home. For a Genoese, leaving his city meant going out into the Tyrrhenian Sea, which belonged to everyone. And while the East was considered the main source of wealth, the advantage was with Venice with its convenient sea routes.

At the end of the 14th century, the primacy of Venice was no longer in doubt. In 1383, she occupied the island of Corfu, the key to the shipping routes to and from the Adriatic. Without difficulty, although at great expense, she took possession of the cities of her mainland lands (the so-called terrafermas): Padua, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo.

Venice was able, much earlier than other cities, to create an empire, modest in size, but of amazing strategic importance due to its location along the routes to the Levant.

In 1388, Venice entered into an alliance with Milan against Padua, and after its fall the following year, with the consent of Milan, it gained power over the northern Italian city of Treviso. Having achieved its goal, Venice showed concern about the strengthening of Milan, radically changed its policy and began to help the former ruler of Padua return it. As a result of the new war, not only Padua, but also Ferrara found themselves in the sphere of Venetian influence.

The picturesque crowds of merchants, diplomats, and travelers who flooded the Piazza San Marco and the embankments of Venice, the beauty and luxury of its canals and palaces, so vividly depicted in the paintings of the Venetian and Italian artists Canaletto and Guardi, reflected the heyday and power of the Venetian Republic, located in that place where the paths of West and East crossed then.

Close ties with Byzantium also left their mark on the appearance of the city. Churches and palaces were built according to the Byzantine model, Byzantine craftsmen introduced the Venetians to the art of mosaics and artistic processing of precious metals and precious stones. “I was in Torcello, and my heart stirred joyfully - dear, as it is, Byzantium,” wrote Vrubel.

The splendor and pomp of the Constantinople court attracted the Venetian nobility. The patricians send their sons to study in Byzantium.

The Venetians were also in contact with the Arab world. The influence of Arab-Moorish art was manifested in the use of polychrome marble and openwork stone ornaments in window decoration.

Participation in the Crusades brought Venice closer to Northern Europe. In the 13th–14th centuries, Western influence penetrated Venice. The Venetians became acquainted with the Gothic and successfully mastered this style.

The 14th–15th centuries were a period of intensive construction. The city changes its face and takes on a look that remains to this day. The unpaved streets are paved with stone slabs, wooden bridges and canal embankments are replaced by bridges and sidewalks made of stone. Other urban planning operations were also carried out: digging wells and cleaning city canals began to be carried out regularly.

The government of Venice was well aware of the need to decorate the city, “without skimping on any expenses, as befits its beauty.” But to build in the city of St. Mark - on thousands of oak trunks driven into the sand or silt of the lagoon as piles, from stone brought from Istria - this required truly colossal costs.

The first half of the 15th century was the period of the greatest prosperity of the Venetian Republic. In her hands are many lands in the Mediterranean and a number of regions of Northern Italy. The republic's navy dominates the Adriatic, and more and more ships are coming off the stocks.

Signor de Villamon believed in 1590 that in all of Italy “there is no place where life would be more free... for, firstly, the Signoria is reluctant to condemn a person to death, secondly, weapons are by no means prohibited there, thirdly, there there is no persecution at all for faith and, finally, everyone lives there as he pleases, in conditions of freedom of conscience...”

Venice's acquisitions grew rapidly in the first half of the 15th century, both in Italy and abroad. Columns with a winged lion appear in the squares of the northern Italian cities of Vicenza, Belduno, Feltre, Rovigo, Verona, Udine, Brescia, Bergamo, Crema and others; The Venetian lion walks along the entire coast of Dalmatia, Albania and penetrates into Argos, Athens, Patras, Mystras, Thessaloniki and other cities (as well as islands) of Greece. Venice manages to achieve success even in relations with the Turks and gain the right to trade in their possessions.

In the 15th century, prosperous Venice had a formidable rival in the East - the Turks.

Initially, Venice underestimated the Turkish threat: the Turks for her were a land people, little dangerous at sea. However, Turkish (or supposedly Turkish) pirates appeared very early in the seas of the Levant, and the Ottoman conquests on land little by little surrounded the sea, ensuring in advance their dominance over it.

The capture of Constantinople in 1453, sounding like a thunderclap, unexpectedly placed the Turks in the very center of the sea routes, in a city created to command the sea. Very soon Constantinople, renamed Istanbul by the Turks, becomes largest city world, sea shopping center, as Venice was able to verify very quickly.

Could Venice have prevented the conquest of Constantinople? She thought about it, but it was too late. Despite the fact that the Senate decision of February 18, 1453 stated that “out of reverence for God, for the honor of good Christians, our possessions and for the convenience and benefit of our merchants and citizens, we should come to the aid of Constantinople, this city about which we can say that it is considered part of our state and should not fall into the hands of infidels,” Venice decides to come to an agreement with the Turkish Sultan.

On January 15, 1454, the Doge, admonishing the Venetian ambassador to Turkey Bartolomeo Marcello, said: “Our desire is to have good world and friendship with the sovereign of the Emperor of the Turks."

The Venetians counted on a good peace as a condition for successful business. They believed that for the sake of mutual benefit, the Turkish emperor would agree to cooperate with them. There was something to be afraid of.

In 1475, the Turks took the city of Cafu in the Crimea, which signaled the almost complete closure of the Black Sea to Genoese and Venetian trade. In 1516 and 1517, the occupation of Syria and Egypt gave the Turks the opportunity to close the doors to traditional trade with the Levant. However, this did not happen immediately; the Turks benefited from transit through their territory, from which they derived considerable benefit.

Venice and Turkey had to exist together. But this coexistence was interrupted by terrible storms. The first great Venetian-Turkish war (1463–1479) showed that the bear in the form of Turkey was opposed by a wasp. But this wasp was tireless.

Venice, armed with advanced European technology at that time, had one more advantage: relying on its wealth, it could recruit troops throughout Europe (up to Scotland during the Candian War of 1645–1669), resisted and behaved defiantly towards the enemy .

But Venice was exhausting its strength, even if the other side could hardly catch its breath.

Venice went to all possible means to weaken Turkey. In Istanbul, its agents deliberately introduced corruption, and when war raged, the Venetians found ways to maintain part of their trade through Ragusa and Ancona. And besides, she skillfully used the empire of Charles V, the Spain of Philip II, the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,” the Russia of Peter the Great and Catherine II, the Austria of Eugene of Savoy and even the France of Louis XIV against the Ottomans.

And also to attack the Ottoman positions from the rear - distant Safavid Iran, the cradle of Shiaism, hostile to the Sunni Turks. It was a resistance worthy of admiration, since Venice fought against the Turks until 1718, the date of the Peace of Pozarevac, which marked the end of her efforts. This battle between the bear and the wasp lasted more than two and a half centuries.

For the sake of victory, at an early stage of the war with the Turks, Venice enters into negotiations with the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, hoping to find in him an ally against a serious enemy.

The Venetian ambassador A. Contarini visited Moscow in 1476, where he was well received. Russia was interested in expanding ties with Venice, and the ambassador from Ivan III, Semyon Tolbuzin, visited there.

The established diplomatic relations contributed to the arrival of construction and cannon masters from Venice to Russia.

Under Ivan the Terrible, Venetian merchants enjoyed the right to trade not only in Moscow, but also in many other cities (Pskov, Novgorod, Smolensk, Kazan, Astrakhan).

In the 17th century, the political situation was so unfavorable for Venice that it sent its ambassadors to Russia for help. In 1655, they arrived in Moscow led by Alberto Vimina da Cheneda and turned to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with a request that he order the Don Cossacks to attack Turkey, with which Venice was waging a difficult war.

In addition, its merchants wanted to obtain the right to free trade in Arkhangelsk. Russia did not start a war with Turkey to save distant Venice, but willingly granted its merchants the right to trade and decided to equip an embassy itself in order to try to borrow money from the “pearl of the Adriatic,” famous for its wealth.

In May 1656, an order was given to send the steward and Pereslavl governor Ivan Chemodanov, together with clerk Alexei Postnikov, to “sovereign service in the Germans in the Vinitsa land to Francyshkus, Prince Molin, as envoys.”

The ambassadors left Moscow in July and arrived in Venice at the beginning of January of the following year, where they were met by Alberto Vimina da Ceneda and reported that “the former Prince Francyskus, by the will of God, passed away, and after him the current prince is already the third.”

The Russian ambassadors stayed in Venice until March 1, but were never able to receive the desired money, because the officials, after much deliberation, gave the following answer: “It’s been the thirteenth year since we’ve been fighting the Turks; Our intelligence and desire do not weaken, but the loss to the treasury is large, and therefore with regret we must refuse the royal majesty; We hope that, having recognized our poverty, he will not be angry with us.”

Ivan Chemodanov was sincerely amazed when the Venetians told him that their doge “does no business and knows nothing.”

In a conversation with Alberto Vimina, Chemodanov said: “If your prince does nothing, and you rule your state, you should describe your names together with the prince in the sheet to the Tsar’s Majesty, otherwise your names are not written on the sheet.”

Western part of the Venetian harbor

So the ambassadors returned to Moscow with nothing. However, attempts to establish close trade relations with Venice still continued.

The 15th century is the peak of the economic and political prosperity of Venice, the number of inhabitants of which reached almost one hundred thousand. From the text of the will drawn up in 1423 by Doge Tommaso Mocenigo, it is known that the republic invested ten million ducats in business operations, which brought a profit of four million. The state has 3,345 ships, 6,000 shipbuilders work in shipyards and another 16,000 people are employed in the production of silk, wool and cotton fabrics.

Venice was a huge city. In the 16th–17th centuries, its population reached a huge figure for those times - 140–160 thousand people. But, with the exception of a few thousand privileged nobles (nobili), full citizens of the city (cittadini), ministers of the church, and the poor or vagabonds, this huge population earned its living by the labor of its hands.

Already at that time there were two worlds of work in Venice. On the one hand, unskilled workers who were not covered or protected by any organization (it included drivers, loaders, sailors, and galley rowers). On the other hand, in Venice there were workshops that united artisans of different specialties.

In the first of the worlds there were porters on the Grand Canal - on the Vinnaya, Zheleznaya, Ugolnaya embankments, thousands of gondoliers, servants of important persons, or those poor people who were recruited into ship crews in front of the Doge's Palace - on the real labor market.

Everyone who signed up received a bonus. If he did not appear on the specified day, he was sought out, arrested, sentenced to a fine of double the amount of the premium, and escorted under custody on board the ship, where his salary was subsequently used to pay off his debt.

Another significant group of unorganized workers were the men and women who performed menial work for the silk and wool production workshops. But it is surprising that the aquaroli (“water carriers”), who delivered directly on their boat fresh water from Brenta, and scow skippers, traveling tinkers, and even door-to-door milkmen were duly organized into craft guilds.

In 1586, when the city had approximately 150 thousand inhabitants, the labor force was slightly more than 34 thousand people.

Nevertheless, Venice lacked a sufficient number of workers. The need for sailors was especially acute, because the city not only stood on the water, but was also one of the great maritime powers.

Venice was looking for labor in Dalmatia and greek islands, galleys were often equipped for Candia (Crete), and later for Cyprus.

It should be noted that the state was very picky about the existence of various types of craft workshops. Neither the leather crafts of Giudecca, nor the glassworks of the island of Murano, nor the silk weaving workshop, which arose even before workers from Lucca entered it in 1314, nor the cloth production escaped his strict supervision.

Shop regulations very persistently imposed strict quality standards that fixed the size of pieces of fabric, the choice of raw materials, the number of warp and weft threads, and the materials used for dyeing.

All crafts, new and old, have been organized in Venice into corporations and brotherhoods since the 13th century. In the city on the water, the entire industrial and merchant world was kept in obedience by money and state power.

The government had four supervisory and arbitration bodies: the Old Court, the Five Trade Wise Men, the City Chief Inspectors and the College of Crafts. Thanks to this supervision, Venice differed from many other Italian cities in its amazing social tranquility. There were almost no riots, spontaneous protests or strikes.

Even the huge Arsenal - a state-owned manufactory with at least 3 thousand workers, who were summoned to work every morning by the bell of St. Mark's Cathedral - was strictly controlled. As soon as there was a suspicion about the possibility of unrest there, one or two of the instigators were hanged, and order reigned again.

Mint and port warehouses of Venice

Wages in Venice were relatively high, and it was not so easy to reduce them.

Each year Venice minted 1,200,000 gold ducats and various silver coins totaling 800,000 ducats.

But in order to preserve all these riches, a lasting peace was necessary, as Doge Mocenigo warned about in his will. Just before his death, the old Doge made desperate efforts to block the path of the military supporter Francesco Foscari, who would become his successor in 1423 and would control the destinies of Venice until his removal in 1457.

“If you elect Foscari, you will soon find yourself in a state of war,” said Mocenigo, “he who has 10 thousand ducats will find himself with only one thousand, he who has 10 houses will be left with only one.” On the contrary, if peace continues, “if you follow my advice, you will see that you will be lords of the gold of Christians.”

However, the Venetians did not heed the advice of the old Doge. The city became embroiled in a protracted conflict.

In the 16th century, difficult times came for Italy. She joined new era- the dramatic and turbulent world of the Cinquecento. Having become the birthplace of early capitalist relations and a new secular culture at the turn of the 13th–14th centuries, the country is entering a new period of social upheaval.

Italy, which by this time had lost its former power, became a bone of contention between the two major monarchs of Europe - the French king and the Habsburgs, who simultaneously owned the German and Spanish thrones. Hordes of enemies fell upon Italy, ruining the once blooming cities; The surviving feudal nobility began to raise their heads again.

The strengthening of the feudal reaction and the threat of loss of independence caused a decisive rebuff in Italy and a rise in patriotic feelings, as well as a powerful wave of anti-feudal sentiment. The first two decades of the 16th century are the story of the heroic struggle of cities and towns against foreign invaders, the years when the best minds dreamed of a united and great Italy.

In this difficult era for the entire country, new trends are also capturing Venice. The Republic of St. Mark entered the heroic period in 1508, when the troops of Emperor Maximilian burst into its possessions, and in 1509, a powerful alliance of European and Italian states came out against Venice - the so-called League of Cambrai, whose military forces defeated the enemy the following year. Venice, having lost part of its possessions, nevertheless survived, although the enemy army was only five kilometers from it.

Italy's struggle for independence, in which Venice also contributed bright pages, brought its people many trials - the occupying troops several times captured all the mainland possessions of the republic and reached the very lagoon. But they also committed many heroic deeds - the famous victory at Cadore (1509), the eleven-month defense of Padua, as a result of which the Venetian Republic won in the early twenties.

It must be said that Venice has always relied on the piety and prudence of its subjects. Thus, during the War of the League of Cambrai, she freed people from the oath of allegiance and provided everyone with the opportunity to compare the conditions of enemy occupation with the mild rule of the republic. Since the Venetians did not have to betray St. Mark and did not face any punishment for it, they returned to the usual rule of their republic. Thus, Venice emerged from this war, not without damage, but with dignity.

The city was saved not only by water, but also by the diplomatic skill of its government, which managed to drive a wedge into relations between members of the league. The Pope, satisfied with some weakening of Venice, now entered into an alliance with her against France.

The new League, the Holy League, created by the Pope in 1511, expelled the French from Italy. The strengthening of papal power was not to the liking of Venice, which, again changing policy, entered into an agreement with France in 1513. Foreigners took possession of Milan, and a clever island republic regained those northern Italian cities that belonged to it before coming under the rule of the League of Cambrai.

As a result of the peace treaty of 1517, all of Northeastern Italy came under the influence of the Venetians.

And already at the end of the 16th century, Venice completely controlled the trade routes of the Adriatic Sea and called it “its bay.” The Signoria took control of all trade: the oil of Apulia, the ship timber of Monte Gargano, the stone of Istria, the salt that people needed on both banks. She also collected traveling merchants, hundreds of boats and sailing ships - all of which she then adapted to her own needs and included in her economy.

After the conquest of the terraferma (the cities of the mainland - Padua, Verona, Bergamo and others), the ties of Venice with continental Italy and, first of all, with the most developed and advanced Florence in those years were strengthened.

Art of Venice

The Renaissance arose as a cultural process based on individualism. The culture of the Republic of St. Mark was vibrant, original, and in many ways unlike the culture of the Florentine-Roman Renaissance. Venice lived an intense and active life, but entered the Renaissance later than the leading centers of Italian culture in the 14th century.

Only in the middle of the 15th century did the Venetians begin to be attracted to new realistic art and the teachings of humanists. A century later, Renaissance culture began to develop in Venice. In that richest city marble palaces and gondolas, whose very life seemed to be an eternal holiday, the Renaissance came spontaneously, without a revolution in culture, without theoretical justification for a new worldview.

First, the Renaissance manifests itself in architecture and sculpture, later in painting. However, at the end of the 15th century, the culture of the Renaissance was fully established in architecture and plastic arts. At the same time, the Venetian school of painting began to take shape, which in the next century would give the world the greatest masters, whose works would serve as models for many generations of artists.

Already the medieval art of Venice is imbued with decorative colorfulness and secularism, the architecture of palaces and churches - with sophisticated ornamentation, fanciful picturesqueness and festive appearance.

When in the 15th century Venetian artists began to decisively turn to the theme of the surrounding world, they were less concerned than the Florentines with mastering the theoretical foundations of art. But the masters of this city, whose life was vibrant and festive, truly discover colorful splendor, permeated with the naive and clear joy of being. Their paintings captivate with decorative patterns or light harmony, shining with colors.

But the new secular culture from the very beginning took on a different appearance than in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. The Venetians lived in another world. Almost from the first years of the city’s existence, they felt like free people, almost never knew the power of feudal lords, and for a long time were occupied with other interests - expanding trade relations, conquered colonies, set up trading posts, and fought their rivals - Pisa and Genoa.

Humanism, which quickly flourished in democratic Florence, slowly conquered the aristocratic “pearl of the Adriatic.”

The Venetians, being practical people, quickly realized the importance of printing. In 1490, Aldo Manucci (Aldus Manutius) founded a printing house that began publishing not only ancient Roman but also Greek authors.

Venice, thanks to its commercial calculations and their practical application(and Venice is rightly considered the birthplace of statistics), early achieved perfection in one of the aspects government system, but in the area of ​​​​culture that then covered Italy, she lagged behind.

Thus, in the 14th century, according to the famous book of Francesco Sansovino, theological, legal and medical works are mainly found in Venice along with historical chronicles. Venice's contribution to Italian poetry remained very insignificant until it was rewarded for lost time in the 16th century.

It was during these years that the Republic of St. Mark experienced a period of calm, a seeming deceptive calm. During these years, a poetic dream is born about a world of cloudless happiness and thoughtful silence, far from the noisy and disturbing life of cities, about enjoying the beauty of nature, giving a person peace of mind.

In Venice, people begin to read Sannazzaro’s poem “Arcadia”, written at the end of the 15th century, glorifying the serene life of shepherds in the lap of nature, and are carried away by the poetry of Virgil and Horace. The celebration of nature becomes a favorite theme of the young Venetian humanist writer Pietro Bembo and others.

The theme of a quiet, happy existence in nature fills Venetian art, pushing traditional religious themes into the background.

In the second half of the 16th century, when Italy entered a period of feudal reaction and the church began to especially actively pursue free thought, the culture of the Renaissance lasted the longest in Venice for the reason that the Roman church never had much power here.

The Doge of Venice (doge) was the elected head of Venice from the 8th to the 18th centuries (before the title was abolished). The state of the Doges of Venice lasted about a thousand years.

The Doge's activities were subject to strict control. The head of Venice did not have the right to alone receive ambassadors of foreign states, open correspondence and have property outside the Venetian Republic. The doge's income was strictly controlled; all gifts received became the property of the city treasury. Such a fight against government corruption has been present in Venice since the early Middle Ages. In addition, the Doge did not have a personal bodyguard.

The Free Venetian Republic was formally part of the Byzantine Empire, but had autonomy, and united various religious denominations, national traditions and art within its city walls. The capital Venice is a progressive and tolerant (in the good sense of the word) city of the Middle Ages. Italo-Romans, Germans, and Slavs lived and worked together here. In medieval democratic Venice, festive “working people’s parades” took place; each type of urban craft represented its own scuolou (school, workshop) in the parade.

Venice was founded in the 5th century as a Christian city, which made its medieval natives proud.

However, only noble families of the republic participated in the election of doges, who made up the Great Council, which made political decisions in the life of the city. Here the property qualifications influenced a lot. The democracy of Venice was not as “democratic” as in Scandinavia or German cities of the Middle Ages.

The winged lion of St. Mark with a book is the symbol of Venice, which is worshiped by the Doge.

Lion of St. Mark by Vittore Carpaccio

The first Doge of Venice, Paul Lucius Anathestos, was elected in 697. According to legend, the first ruler of Venice himself wished to be elected from 12 noble Venetian families as a sign of the independence of his power.

Dress costume. Doge and dogaressa (doge's wife) and a noble citizen.

According to another version, Orso Ipato became the first Doge in 726; he wanted to pass on his title by inheritance, which caused discontent among other influential city clans. Orso Ipato was killed 10 years into his reign.

Palace facade

Until the 11th century, the doges’ struggle for power could hardly be called democracy; it was murder and intrigue in the style of the “Game of Thrones”. For example, during the 7th-10th centuries, out of twenty-six doges: six were killed, three were blinded, four were sent into exile, two ended their days in captivity.

Popular elections took place in 1071 after the ouster of Doge Pietro Barbolano. People took to the city streets and started shouting “Domenicum Silvium volumes et laudamus” - We wish Domenico Selvo. Noble townspeople carried the future Doge in their arms to the Cathedral of San Marco, where Domenico Selvo, barefoot and wearing a simple undershirt, prostrated himself before the people and donned the ceremonial clothes of the Doge.

Venice canals

In the 12th century, the Great Council developed a complex procedure for selecting doges, who were elected for life.

The selection of the members of the Great Council, who were to vote and elect the Doge, resembled a lottery.

According to legend, initially special balls (balote) were made for elections, which were taken from the ballot box. Metallic and indistinguishable to the touch balls contained the names of voters and were counted with wooden handles to prevent substitution. The current word “to run” comes from the name of this Venetian ball.

Palace in the rain

Then the balls were replaced with pieces of paper. Using a lottery, the Council selected eleven electors, who then voted for the Doge. The rules for selecting voters were partially changed at each election to eliminate possible bribery.

John Norwich's book, The History of the Venetian Republic, describes the complex process of Venetian elections.

“On the day appointed for the elections, the youngest member of the Signoria was to pray in the Basilica of San Marco. Afterwards, leaving the basilica, he stopped the first boy he met and took him with him to the Doge's Palace, to a meeting of the Great Council, where all its members sat, with the exception of those who were under thirty years old.

The boy, he was called a ballotino, took pieces of paper from the ballot box and drew lots. After the first such lot, the council chose thirty of its members. The second draw was to reduce this number to nine, and the nine were to vote for forty candidates, each of the forty having to receive at least seven votes. A group of forty people was to be, again by lot, reduced to twelve.

These dozen chose twenty-five people, and they in turn were again reduced to nine. The nine voted for forty-five candidates, for each of whom at least seven votes had to be cast, and from these forty-five ballots the ballotino took out slips of paper with the names of eleven candidates. Eleven voted for forty-one - each had to collect at least nine votes in his favor. So these forty eventually elected the Doge.

First they attended mass, and each took an oath individually that they would behave honestly and justly for the good of the republic. They were then locked in a secret room in the palace, cut off from all contact with the world. They were guarded by a special detachment of sailors around the clock until the work was completed.

That's all for the preparations, then the elections themselves began. Each elector wrote the name of his candidate on a piece of paper and threw it into the ballot box. Afterwards, the sheets were taken out and the names of the candidates were announced, without taking into account the votes cast for them. Pieces of paper were dropped into another urn, each with a single name on it.

If a candidate was present in the hall, then he went out together with any other voter who bore the same name, and the rest discussed his candidacy. The candidate was then invited to enter and answer questions or defend himself against the charges brought against him. A vote took place, and if the candidate received the required twenty-five votes, he became Doge. Otherwise, another piece of paper was taken out of the urn, and so on...

With such a painfully complex system, it seems strange that anyone was elected at all.”

The difficult elections could take more than two weeks, with people eagerly awaiting the results of this lottery.
After the election, the Doge was presented to the people with the words “This is your Doge, if that suits you,” and the head of Venice solemnly took the oath in front of the citizens. The coronation of the doges was a special ritual.

The Doge received a camauro (white cap) from the youngest member of the Council and a Zogia (ceremonial crown) from the most senior. “Accept the crown of the Duchy of Venice,” they told the Doge. During the coronation, the townspeople made it clear to the Doge that here he was a “servant of the people” and not a king.

Doge Leonardo Loredano in a white cap

Doge Andrea Gritti wearing a ceremonial crown

“People surrounded the new Doge and “teared the clothes off his back” - it seems that tradition allowed them to do this. Thus, the Doge was made to understand that he was “a subordinate and merciful person.” The Doge walked barefoot to the altar, took an oath, and was presented with the banner of St. Mark. Then he was put on a new dress, seated on a pozzetto and solemnly carried around the square. The Doge scattered coins, after which he entered the Doge's Palace and addressed his subjects. Meanwhile, the delegation hurried to his house to tell his wife about this news... Afterwards they led her to her new home,” writes John Norwich about the coronation of the Doge.

The day of the long-awaited election of the Doge became a national holiday.

The French chronicler Martineau describes the solemn jousting tournament in St. Mark's Square, "la place soit en tot li monde", which took place on election day:

“Pavilions covered with silk were erected on the square, and the square itself was also lavishly decorated. Beautiful ladies and maidens entered the pavilions, and other ladies approached the windows of the palaces. Monsignor the Doge proceeded on foot from the Cathedral of San Marco, followed by all the patricians of Venice. People surrounded the square... Behind this procession came riders beautiful horses and with expensive weapons. Then the tournament began, with the ladies watching. Ah, senors, if you were there, you would see the beautiful blows of swords..."

In the democratic city there was a parade of artisans, who united into scuols according to types of craft.
As John Norwich describes the workers' parade:

“The parade was led by blacksmiths with garlands on their heads, followed by furriers in rich clothes of weasel and ermine, which was clearly not suitable for the weather at the end of July.

Medieval blacksmiths. The lady is also a labor striker

Tailors walked by, all in white, with crimson stars. As they walked, they sang to the accompaniment of their own orchestra.
Weavers and quilters, sandal and gold brocade makers, silk merchants and glassblowers followed. The birds were released from the cages.

But the first prize for imagination went to the hairdressers, led by two horsemen in full knightly garb and four “very strangely dressed ladies.”

Dismounting in front of the Doge, they introduced themselves: “Sire, we are two knights errant. We traveled all over the world in search of luck. Having survived many dangers and adventures, they won four beautiful ladies. If there is a knight at your court willing to risk his neck and take these strange ladies from us, we are ready to fight for them.” But the Doge replied that he would give the ladies a warm welcome, and if they themselves wanted to be conquered, then with God’s help let it come true. At his court they will be given every honor, and not a single man will dare to contradict them.”

The head of Venice changed the traditional Doge's Cap (Corno Ducale) every year during the solemn Easter procession, which ended at the convent of San Zaccaria. The abbess met the doge and solemnly presented him with a new hat embroidered by the nuns. The hat was made of brocade and decorated with gold embroidery.

Venice was a maritime power and the doges often participated in church ceremonies dedicated to the protection of seafarers.
In the 9th century in honor naval victory Doge Pietro II Orseolo, a solemn procession on boats approached the island where the temple of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of seafarers, was located. The priest, with a prayer of gratitude, sprinkled the Doge and his retinue with holy water, after which the remaining water was solemnly poured into the sea.

"The Doge's Betrothal to the Sea" by Canaletto

Later in the 10th century, the tradition of “Betrothal to the Sea” appeared, which was brought by Pope Alexander III, who arrived in Venice on a grateful visit; the Venetian army helped him in protecting him from Frederick Barbarossa. During the solemn sea procession, the Pope read a grateful prayer service and threw a ring into the sea with the words “as a sign of true and eternal dominion.” Since then, this ritual has been performed by the Venetian doges.

Venice is a fairy tale city that will not leave anyone indifferent. I was a little unlucky with the weather: at first it was sunny, and then... as usual, “guests from swampy Petersburg always ruin the weather everywhere.”

Venice is a city on the water. The history of this corner is amazing. But before you go on vacation, you need to plan it carefully. Study the historical sights of the place where you are going on vacation in advance. This article is intended for those who have decided to travel to the most romantic corner of Europe.

Historical reference

The history of Venice goes back hundreds of years. This one is located on the Adriatic Sea. Historically, most of the city “stands on water.” Venice is beautiful. The history of the city is interesting and full of amazing events.

The city received its name in honor of the Veneti tribe who inhabited this territory. After many centuries, the Veneti were assimilated, but even today you can find their descendants in a place like Venice. The history of the city goes back centuries. And the optimal time to visit the city on the water is May and June!

History of Venice. Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute

It just so happens that Venice is a city of romance and love. There are also stunning cathedrals and churches, including the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. The history of Venice informs curious tourists that this basilica is the largest domed temple. It is located opposite the Doge's Palace, which will be discussed a little later.

The construction of the basilica in honor of the Virgin Mary was completed in 1682. The church is the pearl of a city like Venice. The history of the basilica is amazing. In 1630, the plague was raging in Europe. The townspeople offered prayers to the Holy Virgin. Unable to fight the bubonic plague, people died on the streets of the city. The city authorities turned to the Most Pure One with a prayer. If she stops the epidemic, a unique cathedral will be built in her honor in Venice. The Holy Virgin took pity, the plague retreated from the city, and the authorities immediately began the promised construction.

The architect of the basilica was the young and talented Balthasar Longen. The history of the creation of Venice confirms that the cathedral took almost 50 years to build. Unfortunately, the architect did not live to see the construction of the basilica completed. Every year on November 21, Venetians celebrate victory over the plague and praise the Virgin Mary in a festive mass. Externally, the basilica looks grandiose. It is decorated with pilasters, tympanums and sculptures. The interior decoration of the church is in no way inferior to the exterior. When visiting places of worship, clothing should be appropriate. You should not wear anything bright or open.

St. Mark's Square

The history of Venice is closely connected with this square. The first information in historical chronicles about this square dates back to the 9th century. Three centuries later it was expanded. They named it after the cathedral opposite which it is located. For many years, the main attraction of Piazza San Marco was the feeding of tame pigeons. San Marco is also famous for the fact that a huge number of films were shot there!

The square itself consists of two so-called parts:

• Piazzetta - distance from the Grand Canal to the Campanile.
• Piazza is the square in front of the entrance to San Marco Cathedral.

Stepping onto the piazzetta, you will immediately see two grandiose white columns. Previously there were three. The columns of Saints Theodore and Mark were presented to the Venetians as a trophy in honor of the victory over the Constantinople king Tire. Retrieving such a unique and huge exhibit from a ship is a serious matter. Unfortunately, the third column broke and fell to the bottom of the lagoon. There was no way to get it. Several centuries later, the column was covered with a dense layer of lagoon silt.

Basilica of San Marco

While walking around, be sure to visit the cathedral of the same name. This is a Catholic church, which differs from all other religious buildings with unique elements of Byzantine architecture. The basilica was built back in 832! But in 976 there was a fire. The basilica was rebuilt again. remained dominant, but elements of Gothic, Romanesque and Oriental styles were added. The walls inside the cathedral are decorated with unique ancient mosaic paintings. There is also a shrine with the relics of St. Mark in the cathedral. No tickets are needed to visit the cathedral; admission is free. You cannot wear revealing clothes in such places, or take pictures.

The most grandiose channel

The Grand Canal is S-shaped and runs through the entire main Venetian city. The large canal originates from the St. Mark's basin. Its 4 km path extends to railway station Santa Lucia. The width of the canal varies from 30 to 90 meters. Its depth is about five meters.

While sailing on gondolas, you will see 4 beautiful famous bridges:

• new Constitution Bridge;
• Rialto Bridge;
• Scalzi Bridge;
• Academy Bridge.

In the 10th century, the area with the Grand Canal was the center of Venice. There were a huge number of markets and trading points there. This is easily explained by the fact that maritime traders sailed through the canal on ships and concluded large trade deals.

Five centuries later, the Venetians built the Grand Canal with buildings in the Gothic style. And in subsequent centuries it was “marked” by the styles of Baroque and Classicism.

The grandiose construction was completed by XVIII century. And even now no one is erecting buildings there anymore.

Doge's Palace

This palace is a must-visit place for tourists. His story is long. The very first building was erected in the 14th century, when the Venetian state was powerful and rich. At that time, the Turkish threat did not yet exist, since the Turks did not have a serious fleet. The Doge's Palace was intended for the top officials of the state. The meetings of the Grand Council and the Council of Ten were held there. The Doge's Palace was rebuilt many times. It burned down several times, during the period of the power of the republic it did not correspond to its greatness, which caused another restructuring, etc. That is why the palace does not have a single style. Its façade resembles an overturned ship and features Gothic and Byzantine architectural elements.

The courtyard is decorated with many statues. Through it one could get to the second tier, where the coronation ceremony of the Doges took place. On the same floor are the personal chambers of statesmen of past centuries.

Has many rooms and halls. The first hall you will enter as tourists is Purple. The Doge of the Prosecutor's Office, wearing a purple robe, walked into it. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with lampshades, separated by gold stucco molding. You will get to know the rest of the halls on the tour.

Rialto Bridge

We continue the tour and return to the Grand Canal, to the Rialto Bridge. Let's talk about him. This is the very first bridge over the Grand Canal. It is the symbol of Venice. opens ten popular places Venice. There are 24 stalls selling souvenirs. William Shakespeare wrote about this crossing in his play “The Merchant of Venice.” The history of this bridge is impressive. It burned several times since it was built of wood. It happened that the crossing could not withstand the load and collapsed. But in 1551, the authorities held a competition for the best stone crossing. Among the participants' works was a project by Michelangelo himself. But the winner was the unknown architect Antonio de Ponte. Envious people whispered that the bridge would not hold up and would collapse. However, they were wrong. The bridge is already seven hundred years old, and it still stands. True, the Venice authorities are carrying out large-scale reconstruction until December 2016.

The Rialto Bridge is small in size:

• the maximum height in the center is 7.5 meters;
• The length of the bridge is 48 meters.

Tourists are amazed by the bridge supports. Each of them has 6 thousand piles driven into the bottom of the Grand Canal.

School of Grand di San Rocco

The school, built more than 6 centuries ago at the expense of the townspeople, still stands and delights tourists even today. Today the building houses a charitable organization. The school began its educational activities in 1515. They named her in honor of Saint Rocco. The Venetians believed that it was this saint who protected the city from the raging plague. Today, paintings that are already five hundred years old are displayed for tourists in this building! All of them are perfectly preserved. The main advantages of the San Rocco school are the paintings “The Adoration of the Shepherds”, as well as “The Temptation of Christ”.

Finally, about the fabulous Italian city...

The history of the construction of Venice is closely connected with the rise of the Venetian Republic. Fabulous Italy awaits tourists. It's worth remembering that life in Venice revolves around the canals, including the Grand Canal. Transport also moves along them. Be sure to buy a carnival mask as a souvenir; it is a symbol of Venice.

In 2017 it will take place from February 11 to 28. Two fabulous weeks await you. But always remember that visiting is good, but home is still better!

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Presentation on the topic: Medieval city Venice

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The emergence of Venice The name of the city comes from the region of Venetia, and that from the Veneti tribe who lived here in Roman times. However, under the Romans there was no urban settlement in the lagoon. People began to settle in the Venetian Lagoon after the invasions of the barbarians - the Visigoths, Attila's Huns and the Lombards - took place here in the 5th-6th centuries and devastated cities on the continent, the most significant of which was Aquileia. An urban settlement on the islands of the Venetian lagoon began to be created in the second half of the 6th century.

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Venice now Venice (Italian: Venezia, Ven: Venesia) is a city in Northern Italy on the Adriatic coast. It is known primarily for the fact that the historical part is located on islands and canals. In the Middle Ages, Venice was the center of the Venetian Republic, one of the most important states in the Mediterranean. Currently a major tourist and industrial center, the capital of the Veneto region and the province of Venice. Population - 270.4 thousand inhabitants

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In the 7th century, on the initiative of Byzantium, to which they formally belonged, the islands were united under the authority of a single ruler - the doge. The first Doge, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was elected in 697, which is not documented, and replaced the Byzantine Magister militum, who ruled the entire province. From the middle of the 8th century, a doge was elected in Venice; it should not have been approved by the Byzantine emperor. The first election of a doge confirmed by sources took place in 727; in total, 120 doges were elected throughout the history of the city. The last, Lodovico Manin, abdicated power in 1797.

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The last "Byzantine" city in Italy After the occupation (751) of Ravenna by the Lombards, Venice remained the last territory in Italy formally under Byzantine control. After the incorporation of the rest of Italy into the empire of Charlemagne, it effectively remained the link between Byzantium and the Western world, which contributed to the rapid growth of Venice as a trading city.

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The growth of Venice as a trading state In the 9th century, the commercial growth of Venice was restrained by the danger of invasion by the Hungarians, Slavs, Normans or Arabs (in 975 the Muslim fleet reached the city of Grado). During the reign of Doge Pietro II Orseolo (991-1009), Venice managed to conclude treaties with all the surrounding powers, ensuring the independence of the city and unhindered trade, and also began the territorial expansion of the republic, seizing territories in Dalmatia.

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What is Venice like? In 828, the relics of St. Mark, stolen in Alexandria, were transferred to Venice and placed in a cathedral specially built for this purpose. By the end of the 9th century, Venice had acquired the structure, with islands and canals, that it retains to this day. To protect against a possible Hungarian invasion, a defensive system was built with walls and a chain blocking the entrance to the Grand Canal.

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economic and political rise of Venice Some historians attribute the economic and political rise of Venice to the transfer of the religious fervor and greed of the Crusaders from the Muslim East to Christian Byzantium. The defeat of Byzantium by the Crusaders facilitated trade expansion to the East and, after the Venetian victory over the Genoese in 1381, Venice's occasional trade monopoly in the East.

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Fall of the Republic On May 1, 1797, Napoleon declared war on Venice. Doge Ludovico Manin assembles the Grand Council, which included 1,169 members. 619 members appeared at the Council, who decided to carry out any will of Napoleon. On May 9, Napoleon gave instructions to replace the authorities with a new municipal council drawn from the bourgeoisie and to let the French army into the city. On May 12, at the Great Council, Doge Ludovico Manin announced his abdication; only one member opposed it. After this, the Council, frightened by shots from guns (not French, loyal Dalmatian soldiers fired into the air as they left the city), accepted the reforms proposed by Napoleon. Despite the lack of a quorum, the Republic of San Marco ceased to exist by a vote of 512 for and 20 against. Manin took off his royal corno headdress and said: “I don’t need it anymore.” On May 15, 1797, French troops entered Venice

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Sources: John Norwich. History of the Venetian Republic = John Julius Norwich. A History of Venice. New York, 1982. - M.: AST, 2009. - 896 p. - ISBN 978-5-17-059469-6Oke Jean-Claude. Medieval Venice = Jean-Claude Hocquet. Venice au Moyen Âge. - 1st ed. - M.: Veche, 2006. - 384 p. - ISBN 5-9533-1622-4Garrett Martin. Venice: history of the city = Garrett Martin. Venice: a Cultural and Literary Companion. - 1st ed. - M.: Eksmo, 2007. - 352 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-20921-7 Sokolov N.P. The formation of the Venetian colonial empire.. - Saratov University Publishing House, 1963. Luzzatto G. Economic history of Italy. Antiquity and the Middle Ages. = G. Luzzatto. Storia Economica d'Italia. Roma. 1949. - M.: Foreign Literature Publishing House, 1954.