Venice [antikvár]

Venice is one of the best-known and best-loved cities of the world. The reason forthis lies in the extraordinary beauty of its monuments artd its art treasures, and in its history. But above all, it is to be found in the special quality which is reflected in the waters of its canals and side-channels, with the churches and palaces scattered around dozens of islands and islets in the Lagoon. Venice lives its life in an atmosphere of enchantment and fable, with a touch of melancholy added. What astonishes the visitor most of all is the strange image of a duplicated city: its churches and monuments are seen reversed in the waters of the canals, and become evanescent, shifting, everchanging. They line the banks of the Grand Canal, following its broad sinuous curves with their facades of the finest lace-like carving. Silence permeates the rios and calle, and the most secluded little squares of the city. The enchanted fascination of the rich architecture or the mosaics of San Marco shimmering in the sun, and the magnificent mansions such as the Doges' Palace, or the Ca' d'Oro or the Ca' Pesaro, gives the city an air of opulent splendour, and causes it to gleam and sparkle. And the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, the superb architecture of Longhena, Sansovino and Scarpagnino, the great paintings of Tiepolo, Tintoretto and the delicate work of Bellini, the sculptures of the Lombardos, the decorations in the full flower of Gothic art, all go to make Venice one of the unique and unforgettable cities of the world. BRIEF HISTORICAL NOTES The Venetian lagoon was inhabited from the 5th century of the Christian era, when as a result of the barbarian invasions, the peoples of the hinterland were forced to take refuge on the thousands of little islands which face out to the Adriatic. Here they built a community under the leadership of a 'Dux' (to be known as the Dogé in the future), who was initially chosen by the Emperor, and wassubject tohim. From the eighth century onwards, however, the Dogé came to be chosen by popular assemblies, and this opened the way to the political and institutional autonomy of the city. It was from this period that the fortunes of the future Republic of Venice began: from the tenth to the eleventh centuries, thanks to its strategic geographical position, and the skill and initiative of its inhabitants, the city became the centre of trade in the Adriatic, and later the queen of the trade-routes to the East, assuming the role of a front rank mercantile power. This meant that enormous riches flowed in. It was then that Venice built the splendid monuments which are its chief characteristic today: the finest churches and the grandest palazzi rose, and this was the moment of the greatest ere-