https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells daily 0.75 2025-05-08 https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells/2016/3/7/interest-xhwz5 monthly 0.5 2016-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457374570182-SPBJDFD85JVBM0KK3FDR/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Interest https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells/2016/3/4/heritage-74rkg monthly 0.5 2016-03-07 https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells/2016/3/7/gratitude-nf77s monthly 0.5 2016-03-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457370099006-DFIU2TVMYNO1SVOG9IQY/blog-82.65.365_PS2.jpg Blog - Gratitude https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457370099081-X60SP2T1ZK52SMKCG5PF/blog-82.65.80_PS2.jpg Blog - Gratitude https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells/2016/3/4/passant-7bsp4 monthly 0.5 2016-03-07 https://www.theballotboy.com/blog-wells/2016/3/4/oeuvre-6fbbw monthly 0.5 2016-03-07 https://www.theballotboy.com/the-arsenal daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594687239932-JIWYDSVXNC95A4T68MW7/Canaletto+1732+erected+1460.jpg The Arsenale The entrance to the Arsenale, here painted by Canaletto in 1732, was built in 1460, the gate on the left a distinctly renaissance structure based on a Roman triumphal arch at Pola in Istria. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596764135876-UBCZU0RFMVBUB0X5KAE5/1920px-Jacopo_de%27_Barbari_-_View_of_Venice_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg The Arsenale On Jacopo di Barbari’s 1500 map the arsenal occupies nearly a fifth of the city’s real estate (on the right side, the “tail” of the “fish”). (Click on map to zoom in.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596817906117-KHNA4SUE8CLCTG5MP9S2/Screen+Shot+2020-08-07+at+10.28.33+AM.png The Arsenale - …within the daunting confines of its great three-mile-long perimeter walls…it became as much a symbol of the Republic as [St. Mark’s Square], and none in the Doge’s Palace ever doubted its key role in keeping the peppers and silks flowing into the city, and the [Venetian] gold ducat circulating from London to Baghdad. Richard Goy, Venice | the city and its architecture https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596817619004-N3TTIH2VHMAQA5RUULVR/Shipbuilding+at+the+Arsenale.png The Arsenale - The walled arsenale originally built in 1104 was primarily used for storing ships and armaments. It more than doubled in size between 1303 and 1325 to provide shipways and sheds for building and outfitting galleys. At its height, the Arsenale was capable of producing a complete great galley a day using a production line in which the ship moved from station to station, a technique later used by Henry Ford. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765173956-LDLR2CJ3P6P9SR9MQIXI/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.37.12+AM.png The Arsenale - Great galley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765231584-66U1CR6AQDTXSCLZ4CRI/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.38.34+AM.png The Arsenale - Medieval carpenters https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765250649-2LXIFBTQHVXS7UAI666H/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.39.30+AM.png The Arsenale - Shipbuilding bays, Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765296604-BJ2LTZ5I9YMA1FB991MG/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.41.05+AM.png The Arsenale - Medieval carpenters https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765312978-RFAYGE6EW8GQXSNO1MR3/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.42.05+AM.png The Arsenale - Bird's-eye view of Arsenal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765378934-NRQXNH68L1GHMD94X6E5/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.43.25+AM.png The Arsenale - Great galley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765400845-9SJCDKIQGKOYYG9ZCQNT/Screen+Shot+2020-07-19+at+9.45.41+AM.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765838520-BYPNCCNNN5CTQTHGZKS2/a-venetian-galley-built-in-the-14th+c.jpg The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765908665-LVHQPN1WIV1209RNVXW4/ca+1400.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765922392-1AMI8Q0XR31F4QY3MZA3/ca+1445.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765944654-XNTOFAJDHRK3JB4579UV/CUTAway+venetian+galley.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765957364-2TEDNK7QGZP99GN7GTLJ/galeaVenezianaCDM.gif The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596765977529-DS5CT7EXV3GPSHJJC9KQ/galley+of+Flanders+ca+1400.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596766003300-5GGKL2HPSHG438FKZXK0/galley+overhead.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596766026786-2Q1F7E9S24VZOXDME72D/great+galley+ca+1485.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596766138987-NIX91IZXACGNFF3O77XG/naval+warfare.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596816989455-M4EVWULG9W9F308OBJI4/Carpenters.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596816997468-K51JTRIRL5H2Y79K85SF/Caulkers%2C+10th+c..png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596817012009-Y65K9VCSXU1ESDW71QGK/13th+c.+galley.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596817024751-5HTLONN9UEPF4A1BFLHL/Cog.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596817030767-7K283QXEQM18SC1GL2FX/War+galley%2C+oars+up.png The Arsenale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596764282254-XWGGBAWJS51P7R50FFG6/explorer+%289%29.png The Arsenale The biggest of Venice’s medieval industries, shipbuilding and ship repair, had always been located east of St. Mark’s, in the Castello district, closest to Lido and the deep water channels to the Adriatic Sea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596916375136-TQO4HSTHOUNQ2GXG05GV/Arsenal-Hulls.jpg The Arsenale Galley production at the Arsenale https://www.theballotboy.com/frontspiece daily 0.75 2021-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594932100153-1KTUPVLUVN1YCWG5QIN5/Ulpiano_Checa_La_invasi%C3%B3n_de_los_b%C3%A1rbaros.jpg Improbably City - The Huns invade… Everything changed in the late 5th Century A.D. Attila and his Huns invaded northern Italy. Romans from nearby mainland cities fled to the lagoon for safety. They brought with them everything they could carry, even the bricks and marble from their mainland palaces. Forced into the lagoon by desperation, they began building a refuge among the salt marshes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594936293910-NH379YIF15P4LPR7MOKO/Screen+Shot+2014-04-19+at+4.55.09+PM.png Improbably City - Venice, 1368 We have no photographs of Venice in the 14th Century and the images we do have were drawn to a standard of realism different from our own. In order to envision what Venice looked like seven hundred years ago we must use our imagination to add what has been subtracted and subtract what has been added. The image to the left, a contemporary drawing of 14th Century Venice, is fanciful and approximate. The real story is quite different. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594931938231-GGXTW2649FYMV782E26T/Screen+Shot+2020-07-16+at+3.10.05+PM.png Improbably City - In the beginning… Venice was built where a city should never have been built, on shifting salt marshes in the middle of a lagoon. In Roman times only fishermen and salt gatherers lived there, their houses on stilts. Everything below was subject to the tides which continually reshaped the landscape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594933207069-TTS82B1UICSXS4OH6I2Z/16th+c.jpg Improbably City - Out of the marshes arose the greatest maritime empire of its time, making Venice the richest, the most envied, admired, and remarkably beautiful city. https://www.theballotboy.com/fashion daily 0.75 2020-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808361178-0764M723DLU6YJLFL0OU/chopine.jpg Fashion - Chopines The extreme platform shoes worn by Venetian noblewomen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597860123257-FM8VISFCTUP06ZSQNHCA/fra%2Bcarnevale%2B1467.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802402789-D9FI889AM75TXO0V4AU7/800px-Giotto_-_Tableau_repr%C3%A9sentant_cinq_ma%C3%AEtres_de_la_Renaissance_florentine_%28d%C3%A9but_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle__%29.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805647859-TBYRIS21JN0G39CC96FS/31ffd3c47f47e1b0da5b3914d3130958.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802422662-73VSL7N8FBZ2X7RVJENF/5189238299_1ef7269c1c_b.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802435243-VQLCTIKKEIV356DL42CQ/chris181.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805839181-C5KA1W4PYDQ8IMNBLRVP/women-fresco-cycle_u-l-pmwujo0.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802469856-ZUQ6JQTDN8QHO4YK3S7B/uart-publish-art-collections-visibility-church-basilica-of-san-francesco-d-assisi-fresco-giotto-di-bondone-legend-of-st-francis-13-institution-of-the-crib-at-greccio-detail.jpg.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805620862-SLAJ0WU4IOW18O5OA4IA/Screen+Shot+2020-08-18+at+9.52.58+PM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802502138-2T1Y9WAQ0VGZSE7KHIJV/3george3+2.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805657958-9HPLBSS47NEKB6DE9SWB/Screen+Shot+2020-08-18+at+9.46.43+PM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802619399-QSEX0LC48M6RJ9S3D110/Altichiero+da+Zevio+%28Italian%2C+c.1330+-+c.1390%29+%286%29+2.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805727692-GS097GFYXIKYMQ0NU7J1/508px-Giotto_di_Bondone_-_No._16_Scenes_from_the_Life_of_the_Virgin_-_7._Visitation_-_WGA09192.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802677265-F1WCH7G8RSNGJSRXY8RL/altichiero-da-zevio-zevio-circa-1330-circa-1390-verona-saint-laurence-altichiero-da-zevio.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597805637156-YM19TBOE4A67SW9Z1MA9/Screen+Shot+2020-08-18+at+9.44.29+PM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802705051-83ZCUZ6PKEVOF1QKPPHM/faba6303f7b6eb52df8b0674f7a56a78.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597802791361-M8KEA3HD88XNAHQOGE77/the-beheading-of-saint-george-detail-wga.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597860161782-EN4VMIH8T1V1NQIRWKHI/fra%252Bcarnevale%252Bdetail.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808817887-LQVNE04GCQKAOBT1EZGW/b304cd7247065429cbdf6a6edd045729.jpg Fashion - Italian, 14th century. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808827628-HL5FWFW40AS5SIR7Y55Z/24182adb14dd6526ca6f4f783976fe13.jpg Fashion - Italian, 14th century https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808848431-AOSS36HARGFK0N0XCQM0/Screen+Shot+2020-08-18+at+10.25.46+PM.png Fashion - Italian, 14th century https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808889033-1WZVZMDEGM82JRI9Y69V/Screen+Shot+2014-05-11+at+9.46.20+PM.png Fashion - Modern image of 14th century dress https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808901119-IWJ09UK7W118DUGZ8J6S/Venetian+nobles+1531.png Fashion - Venetian nobles, 1531 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808579444-AGWZP53MBOTA0Z1KXRJF/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-18%2Bat%2B10.30.53%2BPM.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597860241538-OK755SO7R7T45HIXNXRF/massaccio%2B1426.jpg Fashion Massaccio, 1425. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803197030-WSQKU6ZEOQU3WN51IAKQ/Screen+Shot+2020-08-18+at+9.12.28+PM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803212741-WH5LOLMCJIK6UT6SITE5/domenico-tintoretto-portrait-of-a-venetian-senator-%28marcantonio-correr%29.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803225975-LIV0U6CIIOKX40MF1OTL/Francesco_Hayez_010.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803281615-MF065RI0YLU0WNN2Y9AF/painting1.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803283095-AVDTKXAIY6UX286Z4O3T/Screen+Shot+2020-08-16+at+7.25.51+PM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803770253-ERAMYHY03U6HKNCPK3M2/ritratto-di-due-senatori-1.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803851293-JNTLD3Q0VGTPY6F5XNZQ/bellini+leonardo+lordan.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803859405-XAD0XYRGW3C5LG08EKRL/carpaccio+leonardo+loredan.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803870062-YWK13E1ZFMVN39ZSTOG0/circle+of+gentile+bellini.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803916371-0TDABPARCQRV2Y9G1UOE/jacopo+bellini+f.+foscar.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597803970917-LM6ZU5BE7SL7RUNFT0OA/Screen+Shot+2020-08-15+at+10.42.10+AM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597804007017-K47Q7VSXX34BLC44BBMO/Screen+Shot+2020-08-15+at+10.45.49+AM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597804016996-Y7TPJR6F1NNO9E3QK0PB/Screen+Shot+2020-08-15+at+10.54.56+AM.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597804030555-1YEL1DTIYFO6EEAKH5VO/tiziano+andrea+gritti.png Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597806209561-NHGKUTQ1SV9M8UQ2ZTFT/04flage3.jpg Fashion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597808471211-ML10Y2ANL9C2X4K4RHUL/1380s.png Fashion Italian, 1380s https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597801858786-SXCWNEBPEPEUTNVZ7IVU/Screen+Shot+2020-08-15+at+11.40.48+AM.png Fashion - WHAT PEOPLE WORE in the late 14c Century. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597804663899-SXL83Y1VIYYTW9UDZXGR/simone+martini.png Fashion Detail from a fresco by Simone Martini, ca. 1350. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597860394322-Q83VFER30CAXL2X3SARA/15th%2Bc%2Billuminated%2Bms.jpg Fashion 15th c. illuminated manuscript https://www.theballotboy.com/st-marks-cathedral daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596392929750-QKJG3IWBUJEJRDGZLBMH/Screen+Shot+2020-08-02+at+1.27.54+PM.png St. Mark's Cathedral - “The first church of St. Mark’s was, doubtless, built in imitation of that destroyed at Alexandria, and from which the relics of the saint had been obtained.” John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596394393928-WVPECCTUT8MA385PMCJS/dome+structure.png St. Mark's Cathedral The five domes (the fifth is behind the tall central dome) were added in the 12th C. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596396405317-25NU9ELXU9XJ75GV83QT/crypt.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The crypt below main altar where St. Mark’s body, stolen by two Venetian merchants from Alexandria, is putatively buried. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596397831537-CC75LJMMT56UW31SOX78/San_Marco_Venezia_portale_nord_con_Nativit%25C3%25A1_2a_versione.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral Detail, stone and marble work, north façade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596395614173-3ZU47GE6GPVN40ATZZAP/0view1.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The interior walls, vaults, and domes are covered with 90,000 square feet of mosaic tile, the preponderance of which are gold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596395893421-V5K0URCZFLIUYRQTJRMA/12c.png St. Mark's Cathedral The “Pentecost” mosaic in the large central dome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596396677868-JGBVPTV4N7VA1AS22OVE/quadriga.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The Quadriga, the four bronze horses looted from the Imperial hippodrome in Constantinople in 1204, stood outside above the central door of St. Mark’s until they were moved inside to prevent further deterioration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596394261890-6EMY7JRUVKRR4SVSQ148/Basilica_San_Marco_%289739394713%29.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The precious marble columns, carved screens, and sculpture were carted back to Venice after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596397853380-NBNO2FN3QTA4VJ8MRHHL/it-is-the-most-gorgeous-example-of-italo-byzantine-architecture-640x456.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral South façade of church, abutting the Doge’s Palace, clad in polychrome marble. Unadorned brickwork is visible on the right in front of the dome. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596394118711-4U71G2RBBCB4AXAVYR4L/8facade3.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The mosaic over the left portal of St. Mark’s is a self-portrait done in the 13th Century. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596393239420-HXDWT44Y9S2R1STQ7USH/Reconstruction+of+11c+facade.png St. Mark's Cathedral A reconstruction of the original façade of St. Mark’s in the 11th century, before the domes were added (sometime after 1204). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596394800363-JEZ7U6XJUUM0YT5CSEQK/Screen+Shot+2020-08-02+at+11.56.30+AM.png St. Mark's Cathedral Gentile Bellini, “Ducal procession in St. Mark’s Square,” 1496 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596479918699-4B538EVI7SJ7WWXF325L/2.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral J. W. Bunney, a former employee and disciple of John Ruskin, painted St. Mark’s in the late 19th century during 600 morning sittings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596396821015-T0FQOWNDM3UP8IIO90JX/pala+d%27oro.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The Pala D’oro, the golden altar screen, was first commissioned from Byzantine artisans by Doge Pietro Orseolo I in 976 and enlarged by Doge Ordelafo Falier in 1105. It is 9.8 ft wide, 6.6 ft tall and is made of gold. silver, enamel plaques, and 1,927 gems including 526 pearls, 330 garnets, 320 emeralds, 255 sapphires, 183 amethysts, 175 agates, 75 rubies, 34 topazes, 16 carnelians, and 13 jaspers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596396440528-QQYKX38MKND6HEYPAM7P/Technique_2_Cori_spezzati_Venice_picture_2_Web.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The main altar, with porphyry pulpit (right) as well as other rare polychrome marbles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596485004446-I6T0WF2FGOIW2235ED2T/floor%2Bplan%2Bst.%2Bmarks.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral Floorplan of St. Mark’s showing placement of five domes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596396302843-W1TEOKKEPJYJCLFIHXKB/13c.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral The “Creation” dome in the atrium https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596479854916-J608GG6YTR2O45F6MCMN/venice-st-mark-s-basilica-cathedral-tourism-architecture-building.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486440641-U93511N40GXC2P1823FQ/IMG_6966.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486512529-TPQWQCLMJFSFNCC4XS93/download.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486523336-7435JOCNV8C92T1H7NYQ/download-1.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486551136-6B89UN0YS52K7ABRH9EG/images.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486620045-6AUH8THQBA60V0YFHF45/images-1.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596486628814-WPFLEC2HJ10I39NUXFY5/images-2.jpg St. Mark's Cathedral https://www.theballotboy.com/st-marks-square daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596480944722-HH1EEDX45CMK2RYKZZFJ/Screen+Shot+2020-08-03+at+1.54.34+PM.png St. Mark's Square St. Mark’s Square | Piazza San Marco, Canaletto, 1723. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596476580897-FPJJJ20VD8Y4T3DZI1QT/canaletto+1739.png St. Mark's Square View looking west by Canaletto (1739) showing the Church of San Geminiano before it was razed by Napoleon (ca. 1805) to build a throne room and ballroom, known as the “Ala Napoleonica” (the Napoleon Wing), now the Museo Correr. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596477669848-D1VQF9VQVATS0GPHF826/sebastiano-ziani_original.jpg St. Mark's Square Sebastiano Ziani, the 39th Doge of Venice and architect of St. Mark’s Square. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596477495054-IDQY98FA5EYMY04D2IO6/guardi+1755.jpg St. Mark's Square St. Mark’s Square at night by Francesco Guardi, 1755. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596472885970-CGWKHR8UYYC5VIDK7KRB/plan+of+piazza.png St. Mark's Square - Plan of St. Mark’s Square The dashed lines in the center of the square represent the Church of San Geminiano and the stream (Rio di Batario) which flowed in front of it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596477360804-Q3G3NH13LN1X9Q0A53ND/de+barbari+1500.png St. Mark's Square St. Mark’s Square from Jacopo di Barbari’s map (1500) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596476454683-T925QWDAGUS2JQAZRX9U/galileo+w+telescope+1609.jpg St. Mark's Square Galileo demonstrates a telescope on the Square, ca. 1610 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596476323080-LLPUJWAVYAPDP9RCO7OR/16th+c.jpg St. Mark's Square 16th century view of St. Mark’s Square and the Piazzetta. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596739357941-64PTBH7STGL3U8KJCGGU/cid_1123541232_06667v.jpg St. Mark's Square Photograph of St. Mark’s Square showing the campanile (bell tower) before it collapsed in 1902 and was rebuilt “come era, dov’era,” where it was, as it was. https://www.theballotboy.com/the-palace daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594655850330-III9I41WSFZ3T9Q9TBM7/Venezia+Palazzo+Ducale+nella+prima+meta%CC%80+del+XVI+secolo.jpeg The Doge's Palace The gothic palace in full flower ca. 1340. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596341627163-HCRD3AHHIJYOSVX5U9SV/Screen+Shot+2020-08-01+at+11.12.43+PM.png The Doge's Palace - “Considered as the principal representation of the Venetian school of architecture, the Ducal Palace is the Parthenon of Venice.” John Ruskin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594661923395-1XIJH26YOBIRPXP8FL5P/il527.jpg The Doge's Palace The Great Council Chamber’s large glass windows overlook St. Mark’s basin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596344981730-PW1LJZVYWVT0844Y2AH3/Screen+Shot+2020-08-01+at+10.58.51+PM.png The Doge's Palace - Doge's Palace by Canaletto, 1740 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596344990858-XZJVMPNPHP63KXJTYRKT/Screen+Shot+2020-08-02+at+12.05.41+AM.png The Doge's Palace - Postcard from the turn of the last century https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596344988426-TD6IR6M0Y7YHOAT3SITJ/Screen+Shot+2020-08-01+at+11.03.36+PM.png The Doge's Palace - The Doge's Palace today https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379775211-FROM2Z63GAF9O9I6UVKO/Adam+and+Eve+corner%2C+Doge%27s+Palace.png The Doge's Palace - Adam and Eve corner https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379780359-QFSXTZ6X43PL9T7KCDZ3/Courtyard+of+the+Doge%27s+Palace+facing+St.+Mark%27s.jpg The Doge's Palace - Palace courtyard facing St. Mark's https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379820549-L5DYOXPHBIMPLZCYNI0A/Aerial+view+of+Doge%27s+Palace.jpg The Doge's Palace - View from the top of the bell tower https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379956764-9YL00BEPVEKGTIWO7017/Quatrefoil%2Barches.jpg The Doge's Palace - Quatrefoil arches https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379892069-FKDQE9720JWG0OUK7WNW/Attic+prison%2C+Palazzo+Ducale.jpg The Doge's Palace - Attic prison https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596379927516-0IC5C9UR83ECK4Z528P9/Prison%2Bcell%252C%2BDoge%2527s%2BPalace.jpg The Doge's Palace - Prison cell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596380447355-YRQY5JB1IORSEG1DNN9N/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-02%2Bat%2B9.38.07%2BAM.jpg The Doge's Palace - Artist's rendering, 1841 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596380421282-9GNX5MYZLUX7GGRGPX7S/Incendio-Ducale.jpg The Doge's Palace - The fire of 1577, artist's rendering https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596380424061-SFF7HNRILCB0TNZ5RHX2/Floor+plan+of+Doge%27s+Palace.jpg The Doge's Palace - Floor plan of first and second floors https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596383933175-6GH1CVKVPO4BKR7NX1XJ/Venezia%2BPalazzo%2BDucale%2Bnell%2527XI%2Bsecolo.jpg The Doge's Palace Artist’s rendering of the Byzantine palace of Doge Pietro Orseolo II circa 991 AD. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596383227150-F2FLO1OTKWXOGAAFULR5/Venezia%2BPalazzo%2BDucale%2Bnel%2BXII%2Bsecolo.jpg The Doge's Palace When Doge Ziani rebuilt the palace ca. 1172, the upper left tower became a transitional structure between the palace and St. Mark’s (later the Treasury of St. Mark’s). The upper right tower disappeared completely, and the canal on the left was filled in to create the Piazzetta, fundamentally altering the character of the palace. https://www.theballotboy.com/mistress-of-the-sea daily 0.75 2020-08-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594744660875-6O4IDNINGUP1ZEK3OMGP/636_bird%27s_eye_view_by_Mattha%CC%88us_Merian.jpg Mistress of the Sea Bird’s eye view of Venice, 1636. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594939699017-0VXPOJHSYUQDKLX35FQY/Venetian_Republic_evolution_en.png Mistress of the Sea Venetian ships routinely traveled to down the Adriatic Sea to ports along the Dalmatian Coast, Greece, Crete, Constantinople, Cyprus, Tripoli, Egypt, and, via the Bosporus, the ports of the Black Sea. By the 13th Century, Venice ruled the Dalmatian coast from Trieste to Greece, as well as Crete and other strategic islands along their routes. A long-standing strategic debate was waged at the highest levels of the Venetian Republic over whether to be content as mistress of the seas or to conquer a land empire they would be hard-pressed to maintain. Although their navy was formidable they lacked a reliable land army and like other mainland powers, were dependent on hired armies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594647733686-M0WEWVBELQYXP14R7IA9/Screen+Shot+2020-07-13+at+8.41.16+AM.png Mistress of the Sea Aerial views of Venice and the lagoon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594746000206-HQBJKEDBDTCQHABIZGLP/FMIB_36875_Lagunes_de_Venise_%28Italie%29.jpg Mistress of the Sea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594744402908-1CTJBLHC2ZUNVKMDYPYZ/1557+topographical+with+navigable+channels.jpg Mistress of the Sea Topographical map of Venice and its lagoon from 1557 shows the navigable ship lanes within the lagoon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594744281047-AQ6WGXRRLW79CCY1ZA8S/1493.png Mistress of the Sea View of Venice from the Alps to the lagoon, 1493. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594940663817-BK0PV51R703VAKDXE0ML/gulf+of+venice.jpg Mistress of the Sea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594742766768-VWOTHP2KRT0MBPLX5QIZ/early%2BOttoman%2Bmap%252C%2B12c.jpg Mistress of the Sea Ottoman map of Venice, 1525. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594940471023-6WH7DM0DYUXDMH4J4I7S/Battle_of_Lepanto_1571.jpg Mistress of the Sea - Mistress of the sea. Encircled by water and reliant upon the sea for trade and revenue, Venice mastered the arts of navigation and shipbuilding. By the 14th century Venice had become mistress of the Mediterranean trade routes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594647936947-N33L6NQCRSGSZTITPD4F/VENICE+AERIAL.jpg Mistress of the Sea https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594744996013-IW3HBWZQOWECL770NM8X/Screen+Shot+2020-07-14+at+11.42.53+AM.png Mistress of the Sea The mother of all maps of Venice is Jacopo di Barbari’s 1500 bird’s eye view which is executed in extraordinary detail. See map here to zoom in. https://www.theballotboy.com/the-state-apparatus daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597627063098-DOIT0CFK002X39L7GEX1/clock%25252Binsides.jpg The State Apparatus - THE STATE APPARATUS The government of the lagoon people began as a revolt against their Byzantine rulers and developed as a pact between the people and the leader they elected. In exchange for granting him absolute power, he protected them from invaders and kept them safe at sea. If he failed them, they replaced him. Wealth and power dramatically transformed that paradigm into the rule of a hereditary oligarchy deployed in interlocking committees and councils, part of a precisely calibrated system of checks and balances designed to maintain itself. That was its brilliance and its undoing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597693776915-47UAXH1DNP6N0OBN07E7/groneplat3.jpg The State Apparatus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597693026561-GRBEGMILOW4VBAR032I0/316bb45b-090a-422e-88e6-1aba18dcbf6aimage24.jpg The State Apparatus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682153871-SUMB13H9PVPUX6NM73J8/sala+del+senato.jpg The State Apparatus - The Hall of the Senate https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682151699-Y5NNPAS0D9SEH3V4VZDQ/quarantia+criminal.png The State Apparatus - The Hall of the Quarantia Criminal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682153065-P0AMK7OEKB8PCTUXKVLW/council+of+10.jpg The State Apparatus - The Hall of the Council of 10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682158546-4G9ICRILIEMP1TZ6EM2B/maggior+consiglio.jpg The State Apparatus - Hall of the Great Council https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682155814-RA0UVW6JTRW6CZOH9NXK/dieci.jpg The State Apparatus - The Council of 10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597682157137-DS71QZEI5MTOFOFY07TA/quarantia+vecchia.jpg The State Apparatus - The Hall of the Quarantia Vecchia https://www.theballotboy.com/the-ballot-boy daily 0.75 2021-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594867190915-UNGONVUBNZDWSJRXH458/Screen+Shot+2020-07-15+at+9.39.26+PM.png The Ballot Boy - IL BALLOTTINO THE BALLOT BOY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863355282-W0HON3L5LA6RFVVZ4KBS/4.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863378208-2VUTXRYZT9PVQ9N6LRHK/3.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863384961-V6K6G5Q574ATFIA137N0/2.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863392075-BN5LZZ68CAB5TL0N77D3/1.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863418727-5N44QOSKCFBU90JE477C/5.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863437948-TD8MB11KFZIQT81WWWM6/7.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863422923-THHQ86MSDT3DF5KY1LI1/6.png The Ballot Boy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1594863442292-HKIQ4CD558PEQ4GNWOK9/8.png The Ballot Boy https://www.theballotboy.com/torcello daily 0.75 2021-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595388735881-DCC02PWZ1587ITH9RHI5/ven1307.jpg Torcello The Church of Santa Maria Assunta was built by the mainland refugees on the island of Torcello. An inscription found in the church is the earliest documentary evidence of Byzantine rule over the lagoon. It records that in the 29th year of the reign of Emperor Heraclius — 639 AD — this church was founded on the order of Byzantine Exarch Isaac as a memorial to his achievements and those of his army. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595388469913-88FHEAP4O54G2GYEYRV1/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-07-21%2Bat%2B10.15.34%2BPM.jpg Torcello - TORCELLO, the original mainland refuge in the lagoon, lies seven miles north of present-day Venice. When Attila died after failing to conquer Rome, the Byzantine Emperor — ruling the eastern Roman empire from Constantinople— reasserted his sovereignty over the lagoon and Adriatic coast, ruling by proxy from a regional capital in Ravenna, 90 miles south of Venice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595389572279-O9XTM1F1HXLXY2NZKW96/capital+torcello.jpg Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390134095-2WC71OBTPQTDJI0D2MU2/fdabacc4570aef99a0ae8726781b43af.jpg Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595389942204-EMZKFIE1TM21AW4QCUXX/ven2.jpg Torcello “The Last Judgment” vividly pictures the bliss of the saved in contrast to the torments of the damned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390650163-RH4B21OWDKK2TOGT5VZO/souls.png Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390657616-LAH0TCDL3KNPR98R7JBU/Screen+Shot+2020-07-21+at+10.54.27+PM.png Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390673859-7KOHGLPXMX6N47PIPQM2/Screen+Shot+2020-07-21+at+10.54.02+PM.png Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390685291-K6DKU8I1UXPCT9TNUCAY/Screen+Shot+2020-07-21+at+10.54.36+PM.png Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390692444-S4N39Z51WMXHH7DSL8WW/15305205041_2358f1e7a6_k.jpg Torcello https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595390699381-CF73Y9TQCBM38167XQB4/the+envious.jpg Torcello https://www.theballotboy.com/doge-marino-faliero daily 0.75 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597520753914-HKOO88YF3U0AOXGN5WKU/image.png.c6e5ef34da9e573b356dfefd1f33e2fb.jpg Doge Marino Faliero “THIS IS MARINO FALIERO’S PLACE, BEHEADED FOR HIS CRIMES.” THE IMAGE PAINTED OVER FALIERO’S PORTRAIT IN THE GREAT COUNCIL CHAMBER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597527265328-XE2BT6S1SW6ZY12SQOPR/Screen+Shot+2020-08-15+at+4.34.08+PM.png Doge Marino Faliero The old doge, his younger wife, and the noble youth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597521065792-0SL96NOFBNPZA0VE80VO/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_019.jpg Doge Marino Faliero The beheading of Faliero by Eugene Delacroix https://www.theballotboy.com/foundations daily 0.75 2021-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596735982748-E09XWXTPHYKFNTH1EG0X/driving+in+trees.png Foundations https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596735359053-O417I8CF1WZADRJYHZBL/wooden%2Bpilings%2Binto%2Bearth.jpg Foundations https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596735377714-AFKTUVP7BKOQMGZT1XLH/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-07-18%2Bat%2B9.11.01%2BAM.jpg Foundations https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596735410644-YCH8ETCKYQT1KRJ5CORS/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-07-18%2Bat%2B9.11.36%2BAM.jpg Foundations https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595363692137-YPKI9QU09HOGE9B425U4/1946.375+-+The+Church+of+Santa+Maria+della+Salute%2C+Venice.jpg Foundations - Over time they mastered these techniques and built many of the most important and beautiful structures in the world. An estimated million plus trees were driven into the ground to create the substrate upon which the massive Istrian marble church of Santa Maria della Salute (1630) stands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1595360315852-EBFAFIKM3JKEU3LMX25M/stilt%252Bhouse.jpg Foundations - The first lagoon dwellers built their mud and wattle huts on stilts like this present-day fishing hut. Mainland forests of oak, larch, fir, and elm provided the pilings which were driven into the mud floor beneath the shallow waters of the lagoon. https://www.theballotboy.com/bajamonte-tiepolo daily 0.75 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597338733456-MKUW8G8TCPCY3LVXRC3T/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-12%2Bat%2B4.49.05%2BPM.jpg Bajamonte Tiepolo The “column of infamy” was later removed and this marble plaque in the pavement marks the spot where it stood. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597336054679-82JJCRB9WCA1QDCIVPB3/Baiamonte-Tiepolo.jpg Bajamonte Tiepolo June 15, 1310. Streetfighting as Tiepolo’s contingent proceeds toward St. Mark’s Square. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597335991547-N1QS6PEYGJA951IUOT01/congiura-baiamonteok.jpg Bajamonte Tiepolo “The Conspiracy of Bajamonte Tiepolo” by Gabriel Bella depicts the scene outside St. Mark’s Square. The clocktower is an anachronism; it was not yet built in 1310. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597336817434-BHOYNMD1FKU36PHGOLN0/La-Colonna-dInfamia-tratta-dal-libro-del-Molmenti-La-storia-di-Venezia-nella-vita-privata.jpg Bajamonte Tiepolo The “column of infamy,” placed where Bajamonte’s palace once stood, was inscribed “This land belonged to Bajamonte and now for his iniquitous betrayal, this has been placed to frighten others, and to show these words to everyone forever.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597334318341-3FDAB7O3L42R99I9ZOBY/Screen+Shot+2020-08-12+at+10.48.37+PM.png Bajamonte Tiepolo - BAJAMONTE TIPOLO Il Gran Cavaliere | The Great Knight https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597338971215-1RWXCCSJY2MKF76MQSVA/The-Venetian-Council-of-Ten-also-known-as-The-Horrifi-c-Ten-http-resetvenezia.png Bajamonte Tiepolo The Council of Ten. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597339049168-38M85LV1O1ESEZNQTAHU/Gabriele+Bella+-+The+Room+of+the+Council+of+Ten+Doges+Palace+Venice+-+%28MeisterDrucke-277500%29.jpg Bajamonte Tiepolo The Hall of the Ten in the Doge’s Palace, by Gabriel Bella ca. 1750 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597335304955-4W0WLFE90Y56P2SLM6UX/BajamonteTiepolo.jpeg Bajamonte Tiepolo - Bajamonte was the scion of one the greatest of the “old houses,” grandson of Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo, and, by marriage, the great-grandnephew of the Emperor of Byzantium. https://www.theballotboy.com/doge-sebastiano-ziani daily 0.75 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597173416428-76CS5TE72EIOF55M8JHP/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-11%2Bat%2B2.15.30%2BPM.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani Ziani receives the white taper from Pope Alexander III https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597182807297-PW3IJ2SKR3KPQL1UOXX6/pope+gives+ziani+candle.png Doge Sebastiano Ziani Ziani is presented with the Pope’s gold ring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597173242984-KYX6R736C4ESRM7WRDIA/Salvore-06.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597180713465-U1A2SZBFX5E1KNQ8FWSI/sottomissione-Barbarossa-ad-Alessandro-III.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani Doge Ziani (left) hands Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, over to Pope Alexander III for his act of submission to papal authority. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597173082335-CB4MJ5G0CYA1ZT8R1CWE/Ponti%252C_Carlo_%2528ca._1823-1893%2529_-_Venezia_-_Palazzo_Ducale.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani - Doge Sebastiano Ziani ARCHITECT OF VENICE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597184764923-XJEMRXCCVT2JWQNXO0IT/Screen+Shot+2020-08-11+at+12.46.24+PM.png Doge Sebastiano Ziani Francesco Zanin, The departure of the Bucintoro [the Doge’s Golden Boat] from San Marco to the Church of San Nicolò al Lido, painted ca. 1869. The golden boat, surrounded by a regatta of boats of all kinds, sailed to the mouth of the lagoon for the doge’s marriage to the sea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597182828155-THXKN3UTAN1GBBCPX9PL/64191_codex_correr_i_383_pope_alexan_hi.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani Doge Ziani is presented with an umbrella as recognition of his equality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597182777825-WU8FR6PU64L03L8DE2E0/64188_codex_correr_i_383_pope_alexan_hi-1.jpg Doge Sebastiano Ziani Alexander III presents Doge Ziani with the sword of justice. https://www.theballotboy.com/doge-enrico-dandolo daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596901923303-A7M28JR7KRIVQX0AOEVK/ConquestOfConstantinopleByTheCrusadersIn1204.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596903236487-V5RZYJUV3XEVUNHKWR1O/Tinoretto%2C+Caduta_di_Costantinopoli.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo The Fall of Constantinople painted by Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) for the wall of the Great Council Chamber in the Doge’s Palace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596908150661-DX1L0PGD3SMJM33C61DZ/stallions+of+lysippos.png Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909646899-EXUWIPEM809NCH2NI19Z/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+12.58.20+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909657311-TZZ8NYVKBU550MS78FD1/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+12.53.24+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909665135-ZHFUINN0LJMYKAUFO81J/images.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909673559-8YDOH582FNVJP93DJSB8/july-nico-17.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909679421-PLFO2TLLJS9NRFU58XB9/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+12.52.20+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909688371-ONMJTDYVQOA87G9O7LE4/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+12.50.29+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909697657-DBSJDP9W3YJNFDW8J90H/4651c1dd502d564e0a28ac478d6df7a1.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596909944175-NYJQ2D1OGY91WQX0MMNW/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+12.03.03+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo Doge Enrico Dandolo wisely avoided becoming the new Emperor of the East. Here he places the ill-fated imperial crown on the head of Baldwin of Flanders. Instead, Dandolo became the “Lord of One Quarter and One-half of One Quarter” (i.e. three eighths) not only of all the loot but also of the territory held by the Byzantines, giving Venice strategic control of the major trade routes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596910833787-R94DGTDK8EU7KB9IYGL3/Screen+Shot+2020-08-08+at+1.13.04+PM.png Doge Enrico Dandolo The route from Venice to Constantinople for the Fourth Crusade is also the map of Venetian-held territory after 1204, making the Serene Republic the Queen of the Mediterranean. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596902961340-YQFZ2H75WESNN4KKVA3R/M005286_The-old-Doge-Enrico-Dandolo-sacking-Constantinople-1204.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo - Doge Enrico Dandolo, architect of empire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596911282613-6OKF2C87CLSOSD6137P8/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-08%2Bat%2B11.32.16%2BAM.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo The Fall of Constantinople hanging in the Great Council Chamber. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596907150996-QT292ITAQESA8BQE8X6V/Assalto_di_Costantinopoli.jpg Doge Enrico Dandolo https://www.theballotboy.com/st-nicholas-of-the-beggars daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730014105-YKY2C3JQOIKQ4H2NWDOR/S.%2BNicolo%2BNico%2527s%2Bparish.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars - Saint Nicholas Parish San Nicolò dei Mendicoli https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596731933174-8YWSS7YTSL8XWMAL9DUZ/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B11.48.52%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars Di Barbari’s map clearly shows the campanile (belltower) of St. Nicholas at the center top (blue dot), a square 11th century structure. The south flank of Venice, from St. Nicholas to the Customs House, was home to boatyards and wharves. Sections of this shoreline were crowded with wooden rafts and the area is still known as the Zattere (zattera meaning raft. Several can be seen in the lower right corner). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596690018275-N848BHI9S1M8K8UD3VTZ/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B5.11.50%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596689989690-YO5P828GC062G5WL9ZDR/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B5.12.16%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596690079411-QU1F0D0S4O6GIMZD7G8I/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B3.55.49%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596678435194-KLWFGJ9JRE9REJKE8BLE/dot+map.jpeg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730463983-ISHA48S9WW2L4ELI5W7L/S.+Nicolo+Nico%27s+parish.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730474843-YJJ9KPGY6ZQSS6BA406T/chase+2.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730489210-A69HI5P6NZZCFEYUHU8J/chase+3.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730608022-WJZ4LAXQFOAHYA7Z3Y8V/chase+4.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730616464-TQUEIDR3MAFY0E9JIU1K/chase+5.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596730625320-SLWU58764ADS7FJDYK46/chase+6.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596731122908-RZHGX6KPCGSHSC1W91BW/chase+7.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596731154925-VA41EZA8F74RE9EG7W96/chase+8.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596731183331-0UERXR9TSW289HEQZRXQ/chase+end.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596682112002-NV338CCCP2JRGA89MI1P/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B9.02.53%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596679583385-22MFGYT148F2OMTQTLHA/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B3.58.53%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596679630524-O06Q7X26UFTO34XH477O/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-08-05%2Bat%2B9.04.42%2BPM.jpg St. Nicholas of the Beggars https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596681632202-K4JU2MHJ4BKVG4DDG0GQ/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+4.00.15+PM.png St. Nicholas of the Beggars With a tree obscuring the side entrance, it is easier to see the original plan of the church. “Poor but virtuous” women were allowed to shelter in the front porch. Note the well (pozzo) between the tree and the lamppost. The wells are a feature of every square and many courtyards in Venice. Venice had no fresh water except for rainfall. The wells captured the rain through grates in the ground around it and filtered the rainwater through sand before collecting it in the cistern. The wells supplied the city’s water, which could also be bought from boats ferrying water from the mainland. The water of the lagoon and canals is half-salt, half-fresh, good for fishing and swimming but undrinkable. https://www.theballotboy.com/rialto daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596829686134-QNGCXJAJ3JAFSP9UYG0A/Palladio-design-of-Rialto-Bridge-1569.jpg Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596830235453-RDFNNXT1XLA8UUQG7U9X/san-giacomo-de-rialto.jpg%21Large.jpg Rialto - In 1514, fire destroyed almost the entire Rialto area. Among the few buildings left standing was San Giacomo di Rialto (right), the church whose square was the de facto main square of the Rialto district. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596833371416-K8W4LYS7QQLA28JX84E6/RIALTO+MAP.jpg Rialto The yellow circles represent St. Nicholas parish (left), St. Mark’s Square (right), and Rialto Bridge and markets (center). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596829885761-YMEEB2O2K4097MERBMBD/1200px-venezia_-_ponte_di_rialto.jpg Rialto Ponte di Rialto, the Rialto Bridge, was designed by Antonio da Ponte and completed in 1591. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827709850-PXLJ1Z7M99TOXO595D7B/earliest+rialto+bridge.jpg Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827717156-WD7IEAD9AVU3O257MZDR/expanded+wooden+bridge.jpg Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827759406-0CTPAQAEXJCP3XTVJZP6/carpaccio+1496.png Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827914977-7564XK0384O507SMULFI/Screen+Shot+2020-07-14+at+8.17.54+PM.png Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827895392-O7BQ1ILQ11P1Y37FXKPH/rialto.jpg Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596827952268-MPCGMAKMT0KKHHGX4SQI/canal217.jpg Rialto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596826888854-73AT6S0X0DEI32S9L73T/explorer%252B%2525289%252529.jpg Rialto - RIALTO the commercial center of Venice https://www.theballotboy.com/great-council-chamber daily 0.75 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596385813685-0GW4FLOQNBDRM136VXEY/Guariento.jpg Great Council Chamber All that remains of Guariento’s “Paradiso” after the fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596385761248-QQKZ2TU5T2PFUMZRAQHO/Screen+Shot+2020-08-02+at+8.59.03+AM.png Great Council Chamber Tintoretto’s “Paradiso” above the dais today. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596386411331-56FGGVR214R5XBIDAGHP/41-60a2.jpg Great Council Chamber https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596386414406-3MX90UP70192XRZPKSBY/Incendio-Ducale.jpg Great Council Chamber https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596384675226-F87CZMZHE7LGI1YWZHU7/Joseph_Heintz_dJ_Sala_Maggior_Consiglio_Venezia.jpg Great Council Chamber - The Great Council Chamber Sala del maggior consiglio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596386871278-N6IXQRIY4UQEAV749LNO/italy-venice-doges-palace-sala-del-maggior-consiglio-1.jpg Great Council Chamber The Doge sat in the central throne, flanked by his six counselors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596385127173-XKFQWGRV4WJ66NDYNG1G/Doge%2527s%2BPalace%2Bdrawn%2Bin%2B1841.jpg Great Council Chamber Doge’s palace, façade facing the basin. “Rich arcades” supporting the Great Council Chamber which extends from the central balcony to the left corner of the building. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596385880825-NES0G9E52RLP3M6CYZ6N/Coronation+of+the+Virgin%2C+Jacobello+del+Fiore.jpg Great Council Chamber Jacobello del Fiore’s “Coronation of the Virgin,” ca. 1438, is said to have been a copy of Guariento’s “Paradiso” in the Great Council Chamber. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596385573011-2VQSAJQWEDPBA29G428U/Screen+Shot+2020-08-02+at+9.03.13+AM.png Great Council Chamber The Great Council Chamber at a much later date, although the key features remain, the long rows of benches back-to-back where the nobles of the Great Council sat, the dais with ducal throne against the far wall, and the glass windows overlooking the lagoon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596384862989-2HN4B45T2TQTXI0G9YRO/Canaletto_-_The_Doge_and_Grand_Council_in_Sala_del_Maggior_Consiglio_-_KMS3898_-_Statens_Museum_for_Kunst.jpg Great Council Chamber Canaletto, The Great Council Chamber ca. 1750 https://www.theballotboy.com/venice-1368 daily 1.0 2023-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597101035611-BDLYJOELVDN9QE5VUYVH/lion+portico.jpeg Venice 1368 - Venice, 1368. Welcome to the world of Nicolò Saltano, ballot boy to Doge Andrea Contarini, the sixtieth Doge of Venice (1368-1382). Nico was born in Venice on April 17, 1355 and became Ballot Boy on January 19, 1368, at the age of thirteen. From that moment his life changed irrevocably. Taken from his family and forced to live in the palace as servant of a princely head of state, Nico confronted unimaginable splendor and unfathomable deceit. THE BALLOT BOY is the story of how Nico survives, learns to separate truth from lies, good men from bad, and ultimately reckons with his own sexuality at a time when being gay was reason to be burned at the stake. These pages are a visual reference and historical resource for Nico’s world, a psycho-geographical landscape to make another time and place less obscure and unfamiliar. https://www.theballotboy.com/the-columns-of-doom daily 0.75 2020-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596652710310-28G1JIFQ18MYLQ93EBMV/*****carlevarijs.png The Columns of Doom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596655002726-T1RXP72D88XH49N7LDX0/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+2.16.20+PM.png The Columns of Doom Vittore Carpaccio – Leone di San Marco (1516) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596654272529-85XGK7RJIJE1CLJ3UMNI/Luca-Carlevarijs-15.jpg The Columns of Doom - Why “doom”? Two views prevail. The first holds that because hangings, beheadings, and burnings happened between the columns, it was bad luck to walk between them. The second view holds that, in his haste to get to the palace for his coronation, Doge Marino Faliero disembarked from his boat and ran between the columns. He was beheaded seven months later for his conspiracy to murder his enemies and seize dictatorial power, events attributed by some to the curse upon passing between the “columns of doom.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596652469909-AV0LDZCS7MG2C9O2IL63/1999_NYR_09154_0146_000%28%29.jpg The Columns of Doom - The Columns of Doom “On his return from Greece in 1172, the Doge Michieli III brought with him, among other prizes, three lofty monoliths of red granite. One of these relics fell overboard during the process of disembarkation, and has not hitherto been discovered. …The Government ordered that all malefactors and assassins who had been condemned to capital punishment should be executed thenceforth between the Red Columns.” (William Hazlitt, The Venetian Republic) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596653322555-CEI3W616FQUJB66UYO0Z/san+teodoro.jpg The Columns of Doom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596653358557-JQSQYTCTE36XE2WBEX6U/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+12.21.10+PM.png The Columns of Doom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596653749192-IDEN4RZ8Q05E6D1Z6LX2/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+1.55.34+PM.png The Columns of Doom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1596653774870-P9N0PA04CM3VLWGPXKQS/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+12.23.49+PM.png The Columns of Doom https://www.theballotboy.com/closing-of-the-great-council daily 0.75 2020-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597284840133-JY6GFZPDGULEELDSLXKL/1920px-Accademia_-_Procession_in_piazza_San_Marco_by_Gentile_Bellini.jpg Closing of the Great Council “Procession in St. Mark’s Square,” Gentile Bellini, 1496. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597283503644-YCY8ANIW736KTG1N2CTS/1920px-Pinacoteca_Querini_Stampalia_-_I_funerali_del_doge_ai_Santi_Giovanni_e_Paolo_-_Gabriele_Bella.jpg Closing of the Great Council “The funeral of the Doge at the Church of Saints John and Paul,” by Gabriele Bella. The Senators wear red robes, the other nobles wear black. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597283213967-ADIF653P6FTLXIAD3JM4/sala%2Bdel%2Bmaggior%2Bconsiglio.jpg Closing of the Great Council - The Closing of the Great Council LA SERRATA DEL MAGGIOR CONSIGLIO https://www.theballotboy.com/electing-the-doge daily 0.75 2020-09-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597684368531-S7M3WHCSR60N2MJRVKCI/99a76b3174f2433f272c33a6fed01ced-1.jpg Electing the Doge “Sorting process for the election of the Doge of Venice,” Jacob von Sandrart, 1687. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597683465274-ZLLK0MPTNRTUQFW5ZHKI/608-6083726_protocol-for-electing.png Electing the Doge Thirty members of the Great Council, chosen by lot, were reduced by lot to nine; the nine chose forty and the forty were reduced by lot to twelve, who chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine, and the nine elected forty-five. The forty-five were reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven chose the forty-one who elected the doge. Election required at least twenty-five votes out of forty-one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597685563247-F89BTZ44G23OB4KIKYTG/0_SRz0BMKmFT3ZANR5.png Electing the Doge The rounds of electing the doge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597685662388-DXJ78I6K27I38MQE9T4L/gabriel+bella+coronation.png Electing the Doge Gabriel Bella, The Doge’s Coronation, 18th c. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1599494383375-XKKZVAZS235E6YKTJ3L3/thumbnail_IMG_1434.jpg Electing the Doge Diagram of Ducal Election https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597684400539-BGN1LZ2VXYG0AZIXDQG2/sortition-venice.jpg Electing the Doge Protocol for election of Doge of Venice in 1730, print, Italy, 18th century https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1599494468739-WCOSUWCQRFRO3PKHOKV1/thumbnail_IMG_1433.jpg Electing the Doge Diagram of Ducal Election. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f079612a4a2760fc79dcb2f/1597685719790-1NJYTJY3WSSG0KOZA8PP/Francesco_Guardi_-_Le_Doge_de_Venise_port%C3%A9_par_les_gondoliers%2C_apr%C3%A8s_son_%C3%A9lection_sur_la_place_Saint-Marc.jpg Electing the Doge The doge is carried through the square after his coronation throwing gold coins to the crowd, a tradition originated by Doge Ziani in 1172. (Francesco Guardi, 18th c.) https://www.theballotboy.com/contact-wells daily 0.75 2025-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d9b7181d07c0cd16df5f11/1457378862003-QC8PO9E2LYVHW06IWNC5/image-asset.jpeg Contact https://www.theballotboy.com/read-me-wells daily 0.75 2025-05-08