Venice

Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798)

• "Regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century" • Represented the libertine society of Venice • Wrote a 12 volume long book about his life and experiences in different places • Son of an actor who was neglected as a child but came to be someone who was known all across Europe

The Lido

• 11 mile long sandbar that separates the Venetian lagoon from the ocean • Where the first sea bathing facility was established • Contains expensive hotels and resorts • The Venice Film Festival takes place here every year

A Street in Venice by John Singer Sargent

• 1880 or 1882 [Clark Art Institute, Williamstown] • Shows a woman (possibly a gypsy) walking down the street in Venice

Marghera

• Another part of the Venetian mainland that is smaller than the Mestre • Very ugly appearance when looking at it from Venice • They thought that they needed to create factories, oil refineries, etc. to get the economy going • Industrial area that most people don't live at

Santa Maria della Salute by Baldassare Longhena

• Begun 1631 • This church represents the plague that killed 46,000 people in Venice • Day in Novemeber where temporary bridge connects San Marco to this church and everyone goes to pray to the Virgin • Central plan church • Covered in sculpture • Rich and captures light very well • Tremendous volutes that connect dome to the roof • Interior is boring compared to the exterior

"Innocents Abroad" by Mark Twain

• Bestseller in the 19th century • His account of going to Europe and what he does there • More like a comedy guidebook than a novel • Talks about different monuments that he saw • Refers to Venice as the "autocrat of commerce"

Railway connector to the mainland

• Bridge that spans the lagoon from the mainland to Venice • Made traveling to Venice much easier and opened up the city to many tourists • Built by the Austrians

Apotheosis of the Pisani Family

• Ceiling painting in the Villa Pisani at Stra • Portrays the Pisani family going to heaven • 1760-62

The Venice Film Festival

• Cinema placed out on the Lido • Film festival that is a spinoff of the Biennale • Happens yearly in September • Golden lion given for best film, silver lion for best director

Flood of 1966

• City flooded to a height of 2 meters for 20 hours • Caused huge damage and a great call for reform • Caused by a combination of the tide, low pressure weather systems, high winds, and persistent rain, which creates surges of water into the lagoon

Giardini Publicci (Public Gardens)

• Created by Napoleon Bonaparte who drained an area of the marshland on the outskirts of the city to create the public gardens • Now home to 30 permanent pavilions for the Biennale

King Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878)

• First King of Italy • Was the king of Savoye and already had legitimacy as King of part of Italy so it was easier to organize and unify Italy under one figurehead as a monarchy • Easier than developing a democracy • Most states at this time are a monarchy

Biennale

• First massive art show to attract tourists • 1897 • Was started just for Italy and to create a sense of nationalistic pride but became international • Each country built a pavilion to display their art exhibits • Was very conservative when it was started but became more Avant guard after WWI then conservative again during WWII

Molino Stucky

• Grain and pasta factory that began in 1884 • Considered to be most modern, industrial plant in Italy at the time • Attempt to bring advanced economic enterprises to Venice • Architecturally symbolizes a change • Was abandoned in 1955, reopened as a Hilton hotel in 2007

Piazza San Marco painting by Giovanni Antonio Canaletto

• Image that shows Piazza San Marco • Painted from higher view • Yellow tint

The Enlightenment (1650s-1780s)

• Key themes were reason, science, history and individual rights (Anti-religion) • It occurred in Northern Europe, not Venice • Venetians pretended it wasn't happening because it was the opposite of their views and morals

"Ode on Venice" by Lord Byron

• Lord Byron speaks about the decadence of the city and its architecture, history and allure, and how the deterioration of the city would be a loss to him

The Veneto

• Mainland Italy located around Venice • Was part of the Republic of Venice until 1797 • Still considered tied to Venice which makes it very hard for Venetians to have votes pass because they all vote on the same things

Cafe Florian

• Most famous coffee shop in Europe • In San Marco piazza • Coffees cost about 25 euros if you sit but a lot cheaper if you stand • Coffee shops became popular because many Europeans would go here to discuss things i.e. revolutions, ideas, etc. • Piazza San Marco became known as the drawing room of Europe because of how many coffee shops were there, including Florian's

Teatro La Fenice

• Most famous opera house in Venice • Burned down 3 times • Electricians who were working on the building were going to have to pay fines for taking so long so started a fire to make up an excuse and it got out of control and burned it down • Exterior is restrained and not decorated much but interior is Rococo and highly ornamented

The Austrian occupation (1797-1806, 1814-1866)

• Napoleon conquers Venice then gives it to an even more conservative, monarchial regime • Built the railway from Mestre to Venice in 1846

Rialto Bridge by Antonio da Ponte

• One of the four bridges that span the Grand Canal (1591) • The oldest bridge across the canal • Has shops on both sides of it

Neptune offering gifts to Venice

• Painting depicting Neptune offering gifts to a woman representing Venice and the lion of Saint Mark • 1750

Napoleonic Wing (1810)

• Part of Piazza San Marco • Napoleon knocks down San Geminiano to create the Napoleonic wing • Neoclassical style which was a more restrained form of classicism

Carnival

• Period of festivity before the beginning of Lent • Typically lasts a week but could be extended backward indefinitely

Commedia dell'arte

• Plays that involved the same characters the were tied to masks so everyone knew the story behind each character • Different plays used the same characters but followed different story lines

"On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic" by William Wordsworth

• Poem by William Wordsworth that talks about how great of a city Venice was for a long time • Venetians prided themselves on being the oldest independent state of Europe • The Pope gave the Doge a ring in 1177 after a great naval victory that "married the city to the sea" • Napoleon entered Venice and proclaimed the end of the Republic, and handed it over to Austria

Il Risorgimento

• Political and social movement that consolidated different states of the Italian peninsula into the Kingdom of Italy • People of Venice voted to be annexed into the Kingdom of Italy

The French Revolution (1789-1799)

• Regarded as one of the most important events in human history • Radical new idea that all humans should have equal rights and be treated the same under the law • Behead the king • End of the Ancient Regime • Let to French Revolutionary Wars • Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as General of the French Army • Napoleon demanded that Venice release its "political prisoners" but it didn't have any because few people in Venice had an issue with the Venetian Republic

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

• Rose as a general of the French Army during the French Revolution • Wanted to completely disband Republicanism and give everyone equal rights • Conquered Venice after it not being touched for a thousand years • Stole many famous Venetian works of art and brought them back to France, including the horses off of the façade of San Marco and the lion on the pillar at Piazza San Marco

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

• Rose to power after WWI • Was appointed Prime Minister in 1922 • Became leader of the Italian Fascist Party (1922-34) • Called Il Duce (The Leader) • Was in power until 1943 when he was ousted • Wanted to create a strong, nationalist country with lack of class distinctions • Ruthlessly crushed any opposition • Imposed order on a disorganized country • Assassinated in 1943

Piazza San Marco by Francesco Guardi

• Same view as Canaletto's but lower view, more eye level • Grey, murky

Piazzale Roma

• Square that is at the entrance of the city • One of two islands that make up Venice that are motor vehicle accessible • Main bus station for Venice

MOSES

• The "big solution" or postponement • Flood gates that are placed between three spots where the lagoon opens out to the sea • Lie on ocean floor and are filled with water • When water levels become too high, they are pumped with air to rise up and block the ocean water from coming into the lagoon • Expected to cost 9 billion Euros • Has resulted in corruption charges because companies working on it are working for profit and being paid by government funds

Mestre

• The center and the most populated urban area of the mainland of Venice • More working class people live here • Was a small town but many people who relocated from Venice proper settled here

French occupation of Venice (1797, 1806-1814)

• Venice capitulates and surrenders to the authority of a provisional democracy • End of longest running republican state • Napoleon walks off with a lot of Venetian works of art that he brings back to France including the horses on the façade of San Marco • Comes back under French control in 1806 • Napoleon assumes the title King of Italy and buys the Villa Pisani at Stra • Giardini Publicci are built • Napoleonic wing in San Marco piazza

Vedutisti

• View painters • Made highly detailed, usually large-scaled paintings of prints of a cityscape or vista • Two most famous vedutisti were Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) and Francesco Guardi • The two painted same scenes over and over but with slightly different view points • Made these paintings often for men who were on their Grand Tour to take the paintings home with them like postcards

"The Aspern Papers" by Henry James

• Was published in installments in Atlantic Monthly and then as a book in 1888 • Story that takes place in Venice based on letters • Demonstrate James' ability to generate suspense while never neglecting the development of his characters

Aqua Alta

• When the tide rises higher than 110 cm • Causes damage to the city • People have to wear above the knee rain boots or walk on boardwalks laid out in the city • Used to happen only 10 times a year, now happens 60 times a year

The Grand Tour

• Young men (sometimes women) that were usually from England who were around 20 years old would travel through Europe to learn about art, culture, style, etc. • Also to learn about history and politics because Venice was such an important, powerful place o Also was a time to "become men" and have fun • Men who went on this would become the ruling class of England • Began in England and ended in Naples • Made detours along the way to visit important cities like Venice • Would visit Palladio's mansions and have houses like them built for them when they returned home • Would often have portraits done of them showing off knowledge, wealth and power