Venice: Queen of the Seas
Queen of the Seas
After defeating (1380) its rival Genoa in the War of Chioggia, Venice was indisputably the leading European sea power; its sea consciousness was expressed in the symbolic marriage ceremony of the doges with the Adriatic, celebrated with great pomp on the huge gilded gondola, the
In the 15th cent. Venice, known as the “queen of the seas,” reached the height of its power. The city engaged in a rich trade, especially as the main link between Europe and Asia; all Venetia on the mainland was conquered; and Venetian ambassadors, creators of the modern diplomatic service, made the power of the city felt at every court of the known world. The arsenal (founded 1104; rebuilt in the 15th and 16th cent.), where ships were built, was one of the world's wonders.
The decline of Venice can be dated from the fall (1453) of Constantinople to the Turks, which greatly reduced trade with the Levant, or from the discovery of America and of the Cape of Good Hope route to Asia, which transferred commercial power to Spain and other nations to the west of Italy. The effects were not felt immediately, however, and Venice continued its proud and lavish ways. In the Italian Wars, it challenged both the emperor and the pope; the League of Cambrai, formed (1508) by Pope Julius II to humble Venice, merely resulted in a few minor losses of the city's territory; the naval victory of Lepanto (1571) gave Venice renewed standing by undoing Turkish sea power.
The Renaissance marked the height of Venice's artistic glory. Architects like the Lombardo family, Jacopo Sansovino, and Palladio, and the Venetian school of painting, which besides its giants—Titian and Tintoretto—also included Giovanni Bellini, Jacopo Palma (Palma Vecchio), and Veronese, gave Venice its present aspect of a city of churches and palaces, floating on water, blazing with color and light, and filled with art treasures. Freedom of expression was complete except to those who actively engaged in politics; the satirist Aretino, the “scourge of princes,” chose Venice as his place of residence, and John of Speyer, Nicolas Jenson, and Aldus Manutius made the city a center of printing.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- Decline of Venice to the Present
- Queen of the Seas
- Founding and Rise of Venice
- Points of Interest
- Bibliography
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