SECTION XIV

The Rialto—S. Giacomo di Rialto—S. Giovanni Elemosinario—S. Cassiano—S. Maria Mater Domini—Museo Civico

WEcross the Rialto bridge, and in the campo on the farther side find the little church of S. Giacomo di Rialto, according to tradition (p.6) the oldest in Venice. This spot, Shakespeare’s Rialto, was the focus of the commercial life of the old Republic. The colonnade was covered with frescoes, and possessed the famous planisphere ormappa mondoshowing the routes of Venetian commerce over the world. Here the patricians were wont to meet before noon to discourse together of private and public affairs. The church, rebuilt and altered more than once, no longer stands on its original site. It was removed in 1322, when the Rialto was enlarged and a loggia made, that the merchants might meet under cover. The beautiful relief of the Virgin and Child over the portico is fourteenth-century work. The six columns of the nave are the sole remains of the eleventh-century church, rebuilt by Doge Dom. Selvo. On the exterior of the apse will be found the (Latin) inscription whose discovery so delighted Ruskin:Around this Temple let the merchant’s law be just, his weight true, and his covenants faithful.[111]

EDICT STONE, RIALTO.EDICT STONE, RIALTO.

On the farther side of the campo, opposite the W. front, is the Hunchback of the Rialto (Il Gobbo di Rialto), restored in 1892, whence in olden times the decrees of the Republic were promulgated. Beyond the market is the church of S. Giovanni Elemosinario, early sixteenth century, by Scarpagnino. The picturesque campanile has an interesting relief below the cella of the bells. The high altar painting is by Titian, the Patron Saint (St John the Almsgiver). In the chapel to the R. is an altar-piece by Pordenone, SS. Sebastian, Roch and Mary Magdalen. Above on the L. wall is a quaint relief, saved from the fire which destroyed the old eleventh-century church.

We follow the hand pointing to the Museo Civico, and soon reach S. Cassiano, containing three Tintorettos. The Crucifixion, held by Ruskin to be one of the finest paintings in Europe by the master, is a most remarkable and original treatment of the subject—a great and solemn picture in excellent condition. The church has an altar-piece by Palma Vecchio, The Baptist and four saints, said to be the first painted by him at Venice, and three paintings by L. Bassano.

Following the indicator, we reach the little church of S. Maria Mater Domini by one of the Lombardi: the façade by Sansovino. It is situated in an interesting campo, where may be seen a few early Gothic houses with some beautiful Byzantine reliefs and crosses. The church possesses, second altar to the R., Catena’s S. Cristina. The angel to the left holding the millstone is one of the most sweet and guileless of the master’s creations (p.201). In the R. transept is Tintoretto’s Invention of the Cross. Opposite is a Last Supper attributed to Bonifazio.

We at length reach the Museo Civico in the restored Fondaco de’ Turchi. The original palace, the Ca’ Pesaro, was built for Giac. Palmieri, a rich Guelf refugee from Pesaro, about 1230. In 1861 it was an imposing and picturesque ruin, with a cherry tree growing and fruiting on one of theturrets. In 1869 it was wholly restored (Guasto e profanato, says Boni), all the beautiful capitals and columns were recut and scraped, and subsequently anointed with oil to bring out the veining.

BYZANTINE CROSSES—CAMPO S. MARIA MATER DOMINIBYZANTINE CROSSES—CAMPO S. MARIA MATER DOMINI

In the court are some fine examples of Venetian well-heads. 2nd Floor, Room I. contains a collection of arms and banners, some of them captured from the Turks, and fine standards of the Republic. In Room II. are:—31, A late work by Carpaccio, The Visitation; 41, Lotto, The Virgin and Child with SS. George and Jerome and kneeling donor; and a number of characteristic scenes of Venetian life by Longhi and Guardi. Rooms III., IV., V., VI. are wholly dominated by Francesco Morosini and contain spoils of war, personal relics, among which are a book of hours (concealing a pistol), a bust, a portrait, costumes, pictures of his victories, models of galleys. Room VII. has an interesting and complete set of oselle,[112]beginning (2200) from Doge Ant. Grimani to (2716) Doge Ludovico Manin. Venetian coins, among which are cases of gold Zecchini with a unique Marïn Falier, and medals of the Carraresi. Rooms VIII. and IX. display some beautiful Venetian lace and rich stuffs; costumes, fans, stilted shoes, and miniatures, a diagram showing the method of electing a Doge, and a remarkable fifteenth-century wooden staircase. Room X., besides some furniture, has, No. 14, a portrait of Goldoni, and some paintings by Longhi. Room XI. has a miscellaneous collection of reliefs from the burnt chapel of the Rosary at S. Zanipolo; bronze works and ornaments. Room XII. contains a fine collection of majolica ware and porcelain, and some glass, among which, 912, is a deep blue wedding goblet bythe famous Berovieri of Murano. Room XIV. has a precious collection of illuminated MSS. No. 70 (fifteenth century), (Leggenda dell’ apparizione di S. Marco) shows the pillar near St Clement’s altar from which the hand of the saint is said to have protruded. Here are also a number of Mariegole or guild statutes, one of which (9) shows the Master of the Carpet-makers submitting the statutes to Doge Foscari. A specimen of the manufacture which has been presented to the Doge according to usage is hanging on the balcony; 166 is a portrait of Paolo Sarpi and the dagger with which he was stabbed. Room XV., 43, Basaiti, Virgin and Child with donor. 35, Jac. Bellini, Crucifixion. Room XVI., 2, Alvise Vivarini, St Anthony of Padua. 5, Carpaccio,[113]Two Courtezans with their pets: the stilted shoes then worn by ladies are seen in this picture.[114]Four early works by Giov. Bellini, (6) a Transfiguration, (3) a Pietà with a forged signature of Dürer; (8) a Crucifixion, and (II) Christ mourned by Three Angels. Portraits of Doge Giov. Mocenigo (16) by Gentile Bellini and (19) a Bellini school painting of Doge Franc. Foscari.

The curious old church of S. Giacomo dall’ Orio stands S. of the Museo Civico. The timber coved roof dates from the fourteenth century. On the wall R. of the entrance is a fine picture (1511) SS. Sebastian, Lawrence and Roch by Giov. Buonconsiglio, a Vicenzian painter of the early sixteenth century, sometimes known as Marescalco. In the R. aisle is a richly carved and gilded vaulted frieze beneath which is Franc. Bassano’s Preaching of the Baptist, one of his most beautiful works: opposite is an Ionic column ofverde anticoof wonderful size and beauty, one of the “jewelshafts”[115]referred to by Ruskin. In a chapel in the L. aisle is a Lorenzo Lotto, Coronation of the Virgin with SS. Andrew, James, Cosimo and Damian (1546). The picture, which has been much restored, brought the artist 130 gold ducats.

S. Sebastiano—S. M. del Carmine—S. Pantaleone—The Cobblers’ Guildhall—S. Polo—S. Apollinare

WEfollow the route (Section XI.) to the Campo Morosini and turn R. by the church of S. Vitale along the Campiello Loredan. After crossing two bridges and turning an angle to the L., we reach the Campo S. Samuele. The ferry across the Grand Canal will land us at the Calle del Traghetto, which we follow to the Campo S. Barnabà. Crossing the Campo obliquely we reach on the R. the Ponte dei Pugni, as its name implies, one of the bridges where the faction fights between the Castellani and Nicolotti used to take place. The former were distinguished by red, the latter by black caps and scarves. These contests were favoured by the Signory, in order, it is believed, to foster a warlike spirit among the people, and were continued until 1705, when a peculiarly bloody affray in which stones and knives were used, led to their abolition.[116]If the traveller will mount to the crown of the bridge he will see two footmarks in stone let into the paving on either side. Victory smiled on that faction which could thrust their adversaries beyond the line marked by the feet. The bridge then had no parapets and in the course of the struggle many a champion fell into the canal. We resume our way along the Fondamentaas far as the Ponte delle Pazienze. A turning opposite, to the L., brings us to the Calle Lunga, which we follow to the R. direct to the church of S. Sebastiano. No admirer of Veronese should leave this church unvisited. Here the painter, when he came, a young man of twenty seven, to try his fortune at Venice, received his first commission to decorate the sacristy, owing to the influence of his uncle the prior of the monastery. Veronese has made the walls of this temple glorious with some of his greatest creations. Here he desired to be buried, and his two sons and his brother (all fellow artists) piously gave effect to his wishes, and a slab of marble on the pavement, with an inscription, marks his resting-place under his bust to the R. of the organ. A year after his work on the ceiling of the sacristy (the Coronation of the Virgin and the Four Evangelists), he painted in 1556 the ceiling of the church with scenes from the Book of Esther. People crowded to see these novel and daring compositions. At one flight he rose to the highest plane of artistic excellence, to rank with the veteran Titian, and with Tintoretto in the height of his fame. In these creations the Veronese of the Ducal Palace is already revealed with his daring perspective, the grand and victorious sweep of his powerful brush, the pulsating life and movement of his figures. In the plenitude of his genius he subsequently decorated the walls of the choir with two scenes from the martyrdom of SS. Sebastiano, Marco and Marcellino (all three victims of the Diocletian persecution), and the high altar with a Virgin and Child with the Baptist, SS. Sebastian, Peter and Francis, John the Baptist and Elizabeth. In the composition L. of the choir, St Sebastian in armour clasping a banner is seen exhorting SS. Marco and Marcellino to be faithful unto death, while their mothers at the top of the steps entreat them to recant and live. Below, kneeling wives and children add their supplications. This is esteemed by some the masterpiece of the artist, who has painted his own portrait in the figureof St Sebastian. To the R. of the choir is the Martyrdom of St Sebastian.

Veronese designed also the decorations of the organ and painted the panels, (outside) the Purification of the Virgin, (inside) the Pool of Bethesda. The church possesses three altar-pieces by the master (the first altar has a St Nicholas by Titian), and the wall paintings in fresco in the upper choir.

We retrace our steps to the Ponte delle Pazienze, which we cross, and quickly reach the long basilica of S. Maria del Carmine, elaborately renovated in the seventeenth century. The church contains a somewhat faded Cima, Birth of Christ, with a characteristic landscape; an early Tintoretto, the Purification of the Virgin; Lorenzo Lotto’s Apotheosis of St Nicholas, with the Baptist, St Lucy, and angels bearing the bishop’s mitre and crook. In a landscape to R. is seen St George slaying the dragon; in the centre the Princess near a city by the sea; L. are some peasants—a noble and poetic creation.

DOORWAY WITH COLOURED RELIEF OF SS. MARK AND ANIANUS: COBBLERS’ GUILD HOUSE, CAMPO S. TOMÀDOORWAY WITH COLOURED RELIEF OF SS. MARK AND ANIANUS: COBBLERS’ GUILD HOUSE, CAMPO S. TOMÀ

We leave by the door of the L. aisle, and make our way through the long Campo S. Margarita to the church of S. Pantaleone, which we visit for the sake of the fine altar-piece, a Coronation of the Virgin, by Giov. Alemano and Antonio Vivarini in the chapel L. of the choir. What art was able to accomplish four centuries later we may see by lifting our eyes to the ceiling of the church over which expatiate Fumiani’s paintings of the Martyrdom and Apotheosis of the patron-saint.

We leave the church on our left, and continue N.E. to the Campo S. Tomà. Here we shall find the old Guild Hall of the Cobblers (Scuola dei Calerghi) with a relief by Pietro Lombardo, St Mark healing the cobbler. The quaint signs of the craft over the portal and Pietro’s sculpture bear traces of the original colouring. We make our way E., passing the fourteenth-century Campanile of S. Polo, one of the finest at Venice. At the base are carved in stone two lions, one of which has a serpent coiled round its neck, the other holds a human head in its claws. They are popularly supposed to symbolise the fate that overtook Marin Faliero. We note on the L. the fine old Gothic S. portal of the church, and emerge into the broad Campo S. Polo.

From the S.E. angle of the campo a way leads along the Calle della Madonetta, and by the Calle del Perdon to the Campo S. Apollinare. On the L., just before we emerge into the campo, are an inscription and a medallion of Pope Alexander III., which mark his legendary resting-place (p.50). (Another tradition, however, indicates the portico of the old church of S. Salvatore in the Merceria as the spot where he lay.) S. from the campo a way leads to the S. Silvestro Pier on the Grand Canal.

TIMBER BOATS.TIMBER BOATS.

ASTEAMERleaves the Riva degli Schiavoni every hour for the S. Croce Pier on the island of the Giudecca where stands Palladio’s masterpiece, the plague church of the Redentore de’ Cappucini. The island, formerly known as Spinalunga was assigned (giudicata) in the ninth century as a place of banishment to certain of the nobles implicated in the murder of Doge Tradenico. Hence according to some authorities its name: by others it is believed to have been the ancient Jewry.

The fine proportion and symmetry make the interior of the church even more impressive than that of S. Giorgio Maggiore. In the sacristy are three early Venetian paintings once assigned to Giov. Bellini, now generally attributed: (1) Virgin with the Sleeping Jesus attended by two Angels to Alvise Vivarini (p.196); (2) Virgin and Child with SS. John and Catherine and (3) Virgin and Child with SS. Mark and Francis to Bissolo. The last is by some critics attributed to Pasqualino, a feeble imitator of Giov. Bellini.

We may return by the steamer that crosses every few minutes to the fondamenta of the Zattere (rafts) so called because here the great rafts of timber from the Alps were and still are landed, and follow the rio di S. Trovaso, on which is a most picturesquesquero(boat builder’s) purchased by the municipality of Venice to save it from destruction, to the church of S. Trovaso. The church contains two Tintorettos of interest. At the high altar is his Temptation of St Anthony. “A small and very carefully finished picture, marvellously temperate and quiet in treatment,” says Ruskin, who describes the painting in the Venetian Index. There is little tranquillity in the other picture, the Last Supper, in the L. transept. The whole scene is full of “bustle and tumult” and in nearly all its details thecomposition is coarse and irreverent. The moment chosen is when Christ has uttered the words, “One of you shall betray Me.” An overturned rush-bottom chair is in the foreground. One of the Apostles is leaning down to fill his glass from a large fiasco of wine on the floor; another is in the act of lifting the lid of a soup kettle; a cat is lapping up some of the soup. The solemn scene is degraded to the level of a vulgar beanfeast.

FROMthe S. Geremia Pier on the Grand Canal we turn along the W. bank of the Cannareggio and quickly reach the Pal. Labia. A hall on the first floor is decorated by the finest of Tiepolo’s work existing in Venice. We continue along the fondamenta and at length reach the grass-grown campo, opposite the Ponte Tre Archi, on which stands the Franciscan church of S. Giobbe attributed to Pietro Lombardo. The chief pictures of interest are in the sacristy: the portrait of Doge Cristoforo Moro with a careful representation of a ducal cap is a Bellini school painting; a well-preserved Marriage of St Catherine is by Previtati in the master’s most suave and gracious manner; there is also a not very convincing tryptich by Ant. Vivarini. In the Ante-Sacristy is a much-restored Savoldo, the Birth of Christ. Moro’s tomb is on the ground before the altar in the beautiful chapel erected by the Doge to his personal friend S. Bernardino. The chapel is a fine example of Pietro Lombardo’s decorative genius and power.

FISHING BOATS ON THE GIUDECCA.FISHING BOATS ON THE GIUDECCA.

CANNAREGGIO.CANNAREGGIO.

The Ghetto Vecchio and the Ghetto Nuovo may be reached by crossing the Ponte Tre Archi and following the E. bank of the Cannareggio to a portico which gives access to the Jewry of Venice. The term Ghetto is said to have originated from the fact that here were located the old and new foundries for casting (gettando) the ordnance of the Republic. The sites of the old and the new foundries (the Ghetto Vecchio and the Ghetto Nuovo) were in 1516 assigned to the Jews for their quarter. Little that is characteristic now remains. On the L. as we enter the quarter is an inscription declaring the “firm intention of the magistrates of the Republic to severely repress the sin of blasphemy whether committed by Jews or converted Jews. They therefore have ordered this proclamation to be carved in stone in the most frequented part of the Ghetti, and threaten with the cord, stocks, whip, galleys or prisons all who are guilty of blasphemy. Their Excellencies offer to receive secret denunciations and to reward informers by a sum of a hundred ducats to be taken from the property of the offender on conviction.”

We return to the fondamenta and pursue our way to the fine bridge on the R. which spans the Cannareggio and leads to the railway station. We cross the bridge and reach the church of S. Maria agli Scalzi (1648-89), designed by Longhena. The façade by Sardi was restored by the Austrians in 1853-62. The interior is condemned by Ruskin as a vulgar abuse of marble in every way. The ceiling is frescoed by Tiepolo in his most flamboyant style. This heavily decorated edifice (p.195) was erected, as its name implies, for Our Lady of the Shoeless Friars. Behind the high altar is a doubtful Giov. Bellini. The last of the Doges, Ludovico Manin, lies in this church.

FEWparts of Venice have suffered more from the disfigurement wrought by national decadence, poverty and insensibility than that now bounded by theFondamente nuove. In the sixteenth century this was one of the most charming quarters of the city. Here stood the smaller pleasure palaces of the patricians, with delicious gardens sloping down to the sea, whither they could retire after the business of the day to refresh themselves and entertain their friends. The gardens gave on that exquisite prospect where:—

“the hoarAnd aëry Alps towards the north appearedThro’ mist an heaven-sustaining bulwark rearedBetween the east and west; and half the skyWas roofed with clouds of rich emblazonry.”

At evening over the face of the waters, fanned by thecooling breezes of the north, glided the “black Tritons” of the lagoons, graced by the wit and fashion and beauty of Venice. Salutation and repartee were winged with laughter from mouth to mouth, and stanza alternating with stanza of Tasso’s noble verse answered each other in song over the rippling sea. Titian’s palace,[117]where the master entertained all who were celebrated in art and literature, stood near the present Fondamenta. While the tables were being laid the guests were taken to see his great collection of pictures, then for a stroll about his beautiful gardens. The banquet was arranged with delightful art; tables were loaded with the most delicate viands and the most precious wines; music of sweet voices and many instruments accompanied the feast. Pleasures and amusements followed, suited to the season and the guests, until midnight closed the revelry.

MURANOMURANO

There was no brick wall then fencing about the fair island of S. Michele with its beautiful churches, cloisters and gardens; no cloud of coal smoke fouling the atmosphere of Murano, it too adorned with palaces and lovely pleasaunces.

We make our way to the ferry steamer for Murano, which leaves the Fondamente Nuove every quarter of an hour. How has the glory of Murano departed—Muranum delitiae et voluptas civium Venetorum!Its palaces and pleasure grounds are said by an anonymous writer of the seventeenthcentury[118]to be beautiful beyond description. Spacious chambers and banqueting halls were hung with tapestry wrought with scenes from the Punic wars, and furnished with the most precious and ornate productions of Venetian craftsmen. Delicious gardens were traversed by artfully designed paths and provided with arbours of interlaced foliage; fountains, fish-ponds, cool grottos adorned with coral and shells in charming taste, pastures gay with the manifold colours of flowers, and trees bearing choicest fruits. Classic peristyles andexedræ, decorated with paintings and arabesques, afforded shelter from the heat of the sun or from rain, and invited to quiet converse.

On gaining the island of Murano we follow the Fondamenta Vetrai and soon reach the church of S. Pietro Martire, which possesses Giov. Bellini’s altar-piece (1488), the Virgin and Child, to whom St Mark presents Doge Agostino Barbarigo. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of restorers this remains one of the most precious of Venetian paintings.

We continue along the Fondamenta, and cross the Ponte Vivarini to the ancient basilica of SS. Mary and Donatus. Legend tells of the Emperor Otho I. caught in a fearful storm, and vowing, if saved, to build a church to the Virgin, who appeared to him in a vision and indicated this very triangular space, bright with a mass of red lilies, as the chosen spot. To the basilica of S. Maria here erected, Doge Dom. Michele gave in 1125 the body of S. Donatus and the bones of the slain dragon, which are still suspended over the high altar. The story of the saint, as related by the worthy sacristan of the church with dramatic gestures, is as follows:—A terrible dragon once devastated Cephalonia, devouring the inhabitants and poisoning the waters of the river up which it swam. The good bishop Donatus determined to rid the land of the monster, and, accompanied by his clergy, went towards the river to confront it. On its appearance the clergy fled, butthe saint boldly advanced alone and spat at the beast, which at once fell dead. Donatus then took a cup, and drinking of the water of the river, found it pure and sweet, called back his clergy and showed them the dead monster.

The exterior of the apse, with its masterly decoration of coloured brick and marble so lovingly described by Ruskin in the “Stones of Venice,” is one of the most interesting examples of twelfth century Lombard architecture in North Italy.

We enter and note the rare and precious pavement of the church which is finer even than that of St Mark’s. Much of it has been broken up and reset, but enough has remained undisturbed to rejoice the eye of the traveller. The quaint designs are wrought of opus Alexandrinum, porphyry,verde anticoand mosaic. A favourite subject is that of two cocks bearing between them a fox with feet bound—the triumph of watchfulness over cunning. The date, September 1, 1140, may still be read on the pavement in the middle of the nave near the main entrance. The tall, solitary figure of the Virgin in the act of blessing in the apse is a twelfth-century mosaic. An example of Sebastiani’s work—Virgin and Child with the Baptist, St Donatus and the donor (1484)—will be found in the L. aisle.

The local museum possesses a unique collection of Venetian glass of the finest period by the Berovieri family and the Dalmatian Zorzi il Ballerin, some of the ancient luminous red glass contrasted with a modern imitation, and a Libro d’Oro with genealogies of members of this, the closest of the guilds of Venice (p.213). Descendants of the Berovieri still work for Salviati.

THEpoor and almost desolate island of Torcello lies N.E. of Murano and may be reached by steamer, or by gondola with two rowers.

The ride by gondola is a delightful experience. As we are urged along the channels by the stalwart gondoliers with rhythmic strokes, lagoons, islands and mainland villages unfold themselves to our sight. A little group of cottages amid some poplars to the N.W. is all that remains of the once great and rich Roman city of Altinum. To the N.E., among the islands and groups of trees that seem to float mysteriously poised in the soft grey vaporous atmosphere, is S. Francesco del Deserto, with its cypress groves and solitary stone pine, where St Francis bade his little sisters the birds keep silence while he prayed (p.73).

The tall, square campanile of Torcello has long been in view. We pass St James of the Marshes (S. Giacomo della Palude), now a powder magazine, then Burano, and at length enter a canal, pass under a decayed bridge,[119]and are landed at the edge of a sloping plot of grass, once the busy market-place of an important city. The cathedral of S. Maria has been twice restored or rebuilt (864 and 1088), but much of the material and probably the apse of the original basilica still survive in the actual fabric. Less than fifteen years since could be seen the old episcopal throne and semi-circular tiers of seats worn by generations of Christian pastors[120]as they sat amid their clergy facing the people. But the seats have been rebuilt and the throne partly restored with ill-fitting slabs of cheap Carrara marble. Weremember visiting the cathedral shortly after the renewal with a young Italian architect, who, to our expression of pained surprise, replied,Ma signore, era in disordine(but, sir, it was so untidy). There is nodisordinenow in the scraped and restored interior. Many of the original marbles, with beautiful and virile designs, however, still remain in the chancel; and in the facings of the pulpit stairs, hewn into blocks and placed in position by the old builders with small regard for continuity of design, we may perhaps gaze on the very stones brought from the mainland at the time of the great migration under Bishop Paul. The restored thirteenth-century mosaic of the Last Judgment on the W. wall, with its ingenuous realism and grim humour, is unrelated in style to anything in St Mark’s, and is the analogue of many a sculptured Gothic west front in northern Europe. The mosaic in the apse, the Virgin and the Twelve Apostles, with an Annunciation on the spandrils, is Byzantine in style, and believed by Saccardo to be late seventh-century work.

We note the old stone shutters of the windows as we pass to the campanile, which lost one-third of its height by a lightning stroke in 1640. A magnificent view of the lagoons and the mainland is obtained from the summit. The remarkable little church of S. Fosca, with its picturesque portico round the apse, is Byzantine in plan, and was in existence before 1011. It was restored in 1247 and again later. The cupola has disappeared and is replaced by a low tiled roof, but the four arches which carried the old dome still remain. A rudely-carved font of alabaster is worth notice. On our way back we may touch at the island of S. Francesco del Deserto. The friars give a gracious welcome, but true followers of thepoverellothat they are, will accept no gifts in return save reverence and courtesy. A little church and monastery were built around the spot where St Francis prayed, and a small brotherhood have for seven centuries kept unbroken the traditions of their gentle father.

FROMthe Riva degli Schiavoni, and from any pier on the Grand Canal, steamers at frequent intervals will carry the traveller to theLido di Malamocco, popularly known asthelido, one of the narrow sandbanks which, aided by the wit and industry of man, have preserved Venice from destruction by the patiently eroding, and at times, fiercely aggressive waves of the Adriatic. In earliest times it was covered with pine forest, and many an ancient Doge went hawking there. The Adriatic side, a line of bare, desolate sand dunes, visited only by a few lone fishermen when Byron used to take his daily rides on horseback to and fro between the fort and Malamocco, is now the most frequented bathing-station in North Italy. Along the shore “more barren than the billows of the ocean,” Byron and Shelley rode one evening, and as the sun was sinking held that pregnant talk

“Concerning God, Freewill and Destiny,”

which is immortalised inJulian and Maddalo.

As the vessel steams along St Mark’s Channel, will be seen on the left the once fair island of S. Elena, where the ashes of the mother of Constantine, the discoverer of the True Cross, are reputed to rest, and where many famous scions of the Giustiniani and Loredano families lie buried. But Vulcan has now laid his sooty hand upon it. The old monastery walls with their romantic investure of theerba della Madonnaand other mural plants, the cloister with its gardens and tangle of rose-bushes, are now demolished to give place to an iron-foundry; the church, once so magnificent within that it seemed a miracle of sumptuous decoration,[121]is now a machine-room (magazzino da macchine) and tall smoke-stacks smirch the sky.

VENICE FROM THE LIDO.VENICE FROM THE LIDO.

The wanderer who cares for the more silent and intimate charm of Venice will, on the arrival of the steamer, turn aside from the thronged and dusty road to the bathing pavilion, follow to the N.E. the Via S. Nicolo, and walk[122]along the shore by meadows bright in spring-time with blue salvia and the star of Bethlehem to the restored eleventh-century church of S. Nicolo inside the fort. The tomb of the founder (Doge Dom. Contarini) stands over the portal, and in a small chamber in the L. transept, now used as a lumber room, a short inscription of a dozen words tells that there lie the ashes of the stout old Imperial Vicar, “Famous Taurello Salinguerra, sole i’ the world,”[123]who for seven months held Ferrara (p.77) for his master, the great Frederick, against the allied forces of the Venetians and of the Lombard League. Here in olden times the galleys and argosies of the Republic called to take in sweet water for the voyage and to pray for protection to the mariners’ patron saint, and here stood a fair and costly lighthouse. We retrace our steps to the Jewish cemetery and turn L. down a country lane which we follow as far as the Villa la Favorita; we turn again L. and reach the shore of the open Adriatic, saturated with indescribable tones of blue, from palest turquoise to deepest ultramarine, and dotted with the rich yellow and orange sails of fishing craft.

The walk may be pursued along the grass-grown ramparts of the old Austrian fort to the left, or we may turn to the more material seductions of the Stabilimento dei Bagni to the right.

VENICE FROM THE SOUTHVENICE FROM THE SOUTH

ASTILLfiner view of the Lidi is obtained by a voyage to Chioggia and back on the steamers which start from the Riva some half-dozen times daily, and if the voyager happen on a sunny, vaporous day he will enjoy a feast of gorgeous colour almost cloying in its richness.

On loosing from the Riva we steam along the canal Orfano, the legendary scene of the slaughter of the Franks and pass the islands of S. Servolo (now the lunatic asylum), S. Lazzaro with the Armenian convent and printing-press, S. Spirito and Poveglia. Beyond the porto of Malamocco on the lido of Pellestrina, a few hundred yards to the south of S. Pietro in Volta, stands the little village ofPorto Secco on the filled-up porto of Albiola, where the first stand was made against Pepin and his host (p. 16). The beautiful lines of the low-lying Euganean hills have long been in sight, and the richly coloured sails of the Chioggian fishing craft. We pass the porto of Chioggia and enter the harbour. It is said that the old Venetians were wont to distinguish each of the porti by the colour of the water that flowed through: Tre Porti on the N., which gives on the Torcello and Burano group of islands, being yellow; S. Erasmo (now filled up), blue; Lido, red; Malamocco, green; Chioggia, purple. Chioggia, to the jaded sightseer, has the inestimable advantage of offering nothing of interest save the descendants of a fine and stalwart race of islanders still retaining some of their old characteristic traits of costume and language. The admirable view of Venice as we return in the evening, gradually rising with her domes and towers from the sea, is not the least delightful part of a restful and charming excursion.

“THEwordVenetia,” says Francesco Sansovino, “is interpreted by some to meanVeni Etiam, which is to say, ‘Come again and again’; for how many times soever thou shalt come, new things and new beauties thou shalt see.”

General Histories.

Brown, H. R. F.—“Venice: A Historical Sketch of the Republic.” London. 1893.

” ” “Venice” in the Cambridge Modern History. Vol. i. Cambridge. 1902.

” ” “The Venetian Republic.” Temple Primers. London. 1902.

Daru, P.—“Histoire de la République de Venise.” 8 Vols. Paris. 1821.

Filiasi, G.—“Memorie storiche dei Veneti.” 7 Vols. Padua. 1811-14.

Fougasses, T. de—“Generall Historie of the Magnificent State of Venice.” Translated by Shute, W. London. 1612.

Hazlitt, W. C.—“The Venetian Republic.” 2 Vols. London. 1900.

Hodgson, F.—“The Early History of Venice.” London. 1901.

Michelet, J.—“Histoire de France. Vol. x. 1879.

Pears, E.—“The Fall of Constantinople.” London. 1885.

Romanin, S.—“Storia documentata di Venezia.” 10 Vols. Venice. 1853.

Chronicles.

Altinate,Cronaca, andCanale, M. de.—“La Cronica dei Veneziani. Archivio Storico Italiano.” Vol. viii. Florence. 1842.

Comines, P. de.—“Les Mémoires.” Lyons. 1559.

Malipiero, D.—“Annali Veneti. Archivio Storico Italiano.” Vol. vii. Florence. 1842.

Romualdi II.—“Archiepiscopo Salernatini Chronicon. Muratori.” Rer. Ital. Script. Vol. vii.

Sanudo, M.—“Diarii di.” (In course of publication.) Venice. 1879-1902.

” “Vite de’ Duchi de Venezia.” Muratori. Rer. Ital. Script. Vol. xxii.

” “Ragguali sulla Vita e sulle Opere di.” Brown, R. 2 Vols. Venice. 1837.

“Venetian Calendar of State Papers.” 10 Vols. London. 1864-1900.

Villehardouin, G. de.—“La Conquête de Constantinople.” Edited by Bouchet, E. 2 Vols. Paris. 1891.

Art.

“Architecture, Dictionary of.” London. 1892.

Berenson, B.—“Lorenzo Lotto.” London. 1901.

” “Study and Criticism of Italian Art.” London. 1901.

” “Venetian Painters of the Renaissance.” London. 1899.

Burckhardt, J.—“Der Cicerone.” Edited by Bode, W. 2 Vols. Leipzig. 1884.

CroweandCavalcaselle.—“A History of Painting in N. Italy.” 2 Vols. London. 1871.

” ” “Life and Times of Titian.” 2 Vols. London. 1881.

Jameson, Mrs.—“Sacred and Legendary Art.” 2 Vols. London. 1890.

Kugler.—“Handbook of Painting.” Edited by Layard, A. H. London. 1887.

Lafenestre, G.—“La Peinture en Europe—Venise.” Paris.

Levi, C. A.—“I Campanili.” Venice. 1870.

Ludwig, G.—“Jahrbuch der königlich-preussichen Kunstsammlungen.” Vols. xxii. and xxiii. Berlin. 1901-1902.

Melani, A.—“Architettura italiana.” Milan. 4a edizione.

Morelli, G.—“Italian Masters in German Galleries.” Translated by Richter, L. M. London. 1883.

Morelli, G.—“Italian Painters.” Translated by Foulkes, C. F. London. 1892.

Paoletti, P.—“Catalogo delle R. R. Gallerie di Venezia.” Venice. 1903.

Ruskin, J.—“The Stones of Venice.” 3 Vols. Orpington. 1886.

” “St Mark’s Rest.” 1 Vol. Orpington. 1884.

” “A Guide to the Principal Pictures in the Academy of Fine Arts at Venice.” Venice. 1887.

Saccardo, P.—“Les Mosaïques de S. Marc à Venise.” Venice. 1897.

Sansovino, F.—“Venezia Città nobilissima.” Venice. 1580.

Vasari, G.—“Le Vite dei più excellenti Pittori,” etc. Edited by Milanesi, G. 1878.

“ “Lives,” etc. Translated by Hinds, A. B. Temple Classics. London. 1900.

Zanotto, F.—“Il Palazzo ducale.” Venice. 1841-61.

Woods, J.—“Letters of an Architect.” Vol. i. London. 1828.

Miscellaneous.

Brown, H. R. F.—“Life in the Lagoons.” London. 1900.

Centelli, A.—“Caterina Cornare e il suo Regno.” Venice. 1892.

Coronelli, P.—“Armi Blasoni,” etc. Venice. 1700.

Didot, F.—“Aide Manuce.” Paris. 1875.

Gozzi, C.—“Memoirs.” Translated by J. A. Symonds. 1889.

Howell, J.—“Familiar Letters.” Temple Classics. London. 1903.

Middleton, J. H., andYriate, C.—“Venice”; Encyclopædia Britannica. 1888.

Molmenti, P.—“Calli e Canali di Venezia.” Venice. 1890.

” “Venezia: Nuovi Studi di Storia e d’ Arte.” Florence. 1897.

” “Studi e Ricerche di Storia e d’ Arte.” Turin. 1892.

Moryson, Fynes.—“Itinerary.” London. 1617.

Robertson, A.—“The Bible of St Mark.” London. 1898.

Symonds, J. A.—“Bergamo and Bart. Colleoni: Sketches and Studies in Southern Europe.” Vol. ii. New York. 1880.

Tassini, A.—“Curiosità Veneziane.” Venice. 1897.

Voragine, J. de—“The Golden Legend.” Englished by William Caxton. Temple Classics. London. 1900.

Yriate, C.—“La Vie d’un Patricien de Venise.” Venice. 1886.

Zanotto, F.—“I Pozzi ed i Piombi, antiche Prigioni di Stato della Repubblica di Venezia.” Venice. 1876.

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