A time-line of Venezia/ VeniceHistory | Editor(Copyright © 2022 Piero Scaruffi) |
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See also the timeline of Italy See also the timeline of the Roman Empire See also the timeline of the Barbars Not founded at the intersection of major trade routes In fact founded deliberately away from major trade routes Founded by refugees A by-product of the barbarian invasions of Italy 402: The Western Roman Empire moves its capital to Ravenna 412: Visigoths sack Aquileia (Roman capital of the region) 421: The church of San Giacomo di Rialto 452: Huns sack and destroy Aquileia 476: End of the Western Roman Empire 493: Ostrogoths conquer Italy with capital in Ravenna 540: Byzantium conquers Ravenna 555: Byzantine emperor Justinian completes the re-conquest of Italy and Venezia's lagoon is placed again under Byzantine jurisdiction 568: Lombards invade Italy 572: The Lombards move the capital of Italy to Pavia while Ravenna remains under Byzantium 638: Torcello Cathedral 6xx: San Magno erects eight churches in the lagoon 697: Byzantium appoints Paolo Lucio Anafesto as exarc ("doge") of Venezia Venetians don't farm Venezia depends on trade for food Venezia's main export product: salt Main competitor for salt: Comacchio (between Ravenna and Aquilea) Secondary sources of income: plunder and slaves 726: Venezia revolts against Byzantium over the iconoclastic controversy, and appoints a "doge", Orso Parteciaco 742: The doge is elected by the "concio" or "arengo", a general assembly of citizens 751: The Lombards conquer Ravenna 756: The Franks (Pippin the Short) conquer Ravenna and donate it to the Pope 774: The Franks (Charlemagne) conquer northern Italy but Ravenna remains under the Pope and Venezia under Byzantium 787: Giovanni Galbaio becomes doge while a pro-Byzantine faction and a pro-Frankish one fight 810: The Franks (Pippin) try to conquer Venezia but are defeated by the Venetian fleet 811: The doge Agnello Parteciaco/ Partecipazio, who opposes the Franks, leads a migration of the lagoon communities of Venezia to the Rialto archipelago and founds the Partecipazio dynasty 814: A treaty between the Franks and Byzantium recognizes Venezia as Byzantine territory Venezia is more Byzantine than Roman: no amphitheater, no aqueduct, no baths Venezia's architecture is more Byzantine than Roman 828: Venetian merchants steal the relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria (then under Muslim rule) 836: The doge Giovanni Participazio erects the first basilica of St Mark 899: Venezia defeats invading Magyars 932: Pietro Candiano is elected doge, the first of four Candiano doges 932: Venezia conquers and destroys Comacchio, gaining a port on the river Po 976: A fire destroys the church of St Mark 976: The doge Pietro IV Candiano is killed in a popular uprising and replaced by Pietro I Orseolo, first of three Orseolo doges 982: The Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore 992: As a reward for helping fight the Saracen pirates in southern Italy, Byzantium grants Venezia the "golden bull", i.e. special trade privileges 1000: The doge Pietro II Orseolo defeats the pirates and annexes Dalmatia, first major wave of Venetian expansion 1005: Pietro Orseolo's son Giovanni marries a Byzantine princess Feudal system around Europe: the aristocracy holds the land, the nobles don't participate in commerce Venetian system: the aristocracy runs the commerce while land is not valuable The aristocracy makes money only if Venezia makes money The non-aristocrats can get rich too The distribution of wealth is more equitable in Venezia than in the rest of Europe Venezia's wealth: long-distance trade of goods, slave trade and plunder 1026: Otto Orseolo is deposed and expelled from Venezia 1032: The doge Pietro Barbolano is deposed too and the new doge Domenico Flabanico introduces a republican system of government 1043: Domenico Contarini becomes doge 1063: Work begins to rebuild and enlarge the Basilica of St Mark 1081: The doge Domenico Selvo rescues the Byzantine port of Durazzo from the Normans 1082: Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus grants Venezia the "golden bull" (unrestricted free trade throughout the Byzantine Empire), the beginning of Venetian trade with the East 1094: The second basilica of St Mark is consecrated 1095: Vital I Michiel is elected doge and begins the Michiel dynasty 1099: Venezia defeats Pisa off the coast of Rhodes terminating Pisa's trade in the east 1104: The Arsenale is established 1106: After a fire that destroys many buildings, Venezia shifts to using stone instead of wood 1110: As reward for Venezia's help during a crusade in Palestine, Venezia obtains the port of Acre in Lebanon 1122: Venezia leads a crusade in Lebanon 1124: Venezia obtains trading concessions in Tyre 1128: The doge Domenico Michiel installs lamps along the streets making Venezia the first city with public street lighting 1144: The oldest document that mentions the "commune" of Venezia 1156: Vital II Michiel is elected doge 1162: To celebrate the military victory of Venezia over the patriarch of Aquileia, Venezia organizes the first "carnival" 1171: Byzantine emperor Manuel Comnenus arrests all Venetian citizens on Byzantine territory and confiscates their property in retaliation for the destruction of Genova/ Genoa's settlement in Byzantium 1171: Vital II Michiel is murdered by an angry mob after losing most of the fleet in the attempt to punish Byzantium 1172: Venezia creates the Grand Council ("maggior consiglio") to replace the "arengo" (general assembly) and curtail the power of doges 1172: The doge Sebastiano Ziani erects a new palace in the gothic style (Palazzo Ducale/ Doge's Palace) 1175: Venezia creates the Minor Consiglio of six advisors to the doge, which limits the doge's power 1177: The pope Alexander III and the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa sign a peace treaty in Venezia 1180: Nicolo' Barattieri raises St Marks' Campanile 1181: Nicolo' Barattieri builds a floating bridge across the Grand Canal, the first Rialto bridge 1181: The doge Orio Mastropiero issues a "promissio maleficiorum" that codifies the law of Venezia 1193: Venezia introduces the "promissione ducale", an oath of office sworn by the newly elected doge that restricts the power of the doge 1200: There are 14 "scuole" (lay and religious confraternities) in Venezia 1204: During the Fourth Crusade, Venetian troops of doge Enrico Dandolo sack Byzantium and establish the Latin Empire, gaining control over the entire Greek coast and over half of the city of Byzantium 1204: The doge Enrico Dandolo embellishes St Mark's basilica with plunder from Byzantium (e.g. the four bronze horses, the porphyry Pietra del Bando, porphyry statues of the tetrarchs, the icon of Madonna Nicopeia) 1206: The crusader Boniface of Montferrat sells Crete to Venezia 1228: Venezia creates the Fondaco dei Tedeschi for Northern European traders 1229: Giacomo Tiepolo is elected doge and Venezia creates a senate ("consiglio dei pregadi"), parallel to the Council of Ten, made of 60 people chosen by the hundreds of members of the Grand Council 1232: The doge Giacomo Tiepolo codifies the law of Venezia in the "Liber Promissionis Maleficii" 1234: Construction of the Dominican Church of San Giovanni e Paolo begins 1236: Construction of the Franciscan church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari begins 1240: Venezia conquers Ferrara and the Este family is appointed to rule it 1257: Venezia and Genova fight a war over Acre 1260: Niccolo' and Maffeo Polo travel to China, ruled by Kublai Khan 1261: Michael VIII Palaiologos, ruler of Nicaea, conquers Byzantium and re-establishes the Byzantine Empire, burning the Venetian quarter and massacring Venetian citizens, thereby greatly reducing Venezia's sea trade with the east 1269: Niccolo' and Maffeo Polo return to Venezia 1270: The war against Genova ends without a real winner 1271: Marco Polo joins his father Niccolo' and his ucle Maffeo in their second trip to China 1284: Venezia mints the gold ducat (the "zecchino d'oro") 1291: The Mamluks conquer Acre, further weakening Venezia's trade with the east 1292: Venezia confines glass-makers to the island of Murano 1294: Venezia and Genova fight a second war over trade in the east 1295: The Polos return to Venezia after traveling almost 24,000 kms 1296: The Genoese residents of Byzantium destroy the Venetian quarter and massacre Venetian residents, and in retaliation the Venetian fleet captures various Genoese possessions in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea 1296: Venezia's senate establishes the carnival holiday 1298: The doge Pietro Gradenigo enacts a political reform (the "serrata") which allows many more citizens to participate in political meetings and ascend to the Grand Council, subjec to approval by the Council of Forty (the "quarantia"), a sort of supreme tribunal 1298: Genova destroys the Venetian fleet of Andrea Dandolo at the Battle of Curzola off the Dalmatian coast and Marco Polo is taken prisoner 1299: The failed conspiracy of Marin Bocconio 1299: The Treaty of Milan ends the war against Genova, with Venezia's mercantile fleet greatly reduced 1300 Venezia is the most prosperous city in all of Europe Venezia is one of the largest cities in Europe (120 thousand people) The main naval force in the Mediterranean Sea A cosmopolitan city: many foreigners live in Venezia (Austrians, Germans, Poles, Hungarians, Turks, Greeks, Egyptians, Armenians) A melting pot also of confraternities (scuole) and monastic orders Proto-industrial ship-building: specialization of labor and mass production of ships based on a standard design Sea route to Byzantium (two months) Sea route to Crete (one month trip) Sea route to Trebizond (three months) Sea route to Alexandria Sea route to the Black Sea Overland routes to Austria and Bavaria Most profitable trade: spices to northern Europe (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, pepper, ginger...) But also: dyes, silk, carpets, gems, incense, cotton But also: slaves (Black Sea) 1300: Rustichello da Pisa publishes Marco Polo's memoirs in French 1303: Venezia expands the Arsenale which becomes Europe's main shipbuilding factory 130x: Venezia develops the "Barbary Route" along the African coasts of the western Mediterranean Sea 1309: The Pope forms a coalition of cities against Venezia and invades Ferrara 1310: After the failed conspiracy of Bajamonte Tiepolo and the Querini brothers, angry at doge Gradenigo for the war of Ferrara, the Grand Council establishes the Council of Ten to provide national securit, a sort of spy agency 1315: Venezia compiles "Il Libro d'Oro/ The Golden Book", the list of all Venetian patrician families 1319: Treaty with Trebizond that opens the way to the Persian Ilkhanate 1338: First church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari 1339: Venezia conquers Treviso 1340: The doge Bartolomeo Gradenigo begins building a new Palazzo Ducale 1348: The "Black Death" devastates Venezia 1352: Genova defeats Venezia, the Catalans and the Byzantines in the Bosphorus 1354: The failed conspiracy of Marin Falier 1354: Genova destroys the entire Venetian fleet in the Peloponnese/ Morea and Venezia deposes doge Marino Falier 1358: Venezia opens the public brothel of Rialto 1362: Palazzo Corner Loredan is built 1376: Venezia buys the strategic island of Tenedos near the Dardanelles from the Byzantines but the island is claimed by Genova 1377: Venezia fights another war against Genova 1379: Genova lays siege to Venezia 1380: Venezia defeats Genova at the Battle of Chioggia 1381: The peace of Turin assigns Cyprus to Genova and makes Genova the dominant commercial power in the Black Sea, while almost all of Venezia's territory on the Italian mainland is given to Austria 1381: As a reward for fighting in the war against Genoa, Venezia admits 30 families to the Grand Council, and no old family will produce a doge for centuries 1404: Milano asks Venezia for help against Padova promising as reward Verona and Vicenza 1403: Venezia conquers Vicenza from Padova/Padua 1405: Venezia conquers Padova and Verona, i.e. the whole Veneto, which constitute its Domini di Terraferma, i.e. land domain 1406: Angelo Corraro becomes the first pope from Venezia, pope Gregorio XII 1420: The Franciscan church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is completed 1423: Francesco Foscari is elected doge and plans a further expansion to the west using mercenaries ("condottieri") 1423: Venezia institutes the "signoria", a ten-men committee made of the doge plus the six advisors of the Minor Consiglio plus the three leaders of the quarantia 1427: Venezia conquers Brescia from Milano 1428: Venezia obtains Bergamo from Milano at the Peace of Ferrara 1430: The Dominican Church of San Giovanni e Paolo is completed 1431: Venezia fights another war against Genova 1431: The Venetian Gabriele Condulmer becomes pope Eugenio IV 1434: The Contarini family builds the Ca’ D’Oro ("House of Gold") 1439: Venezia sends a fleet up the River Adige to Lago di Garda to fight Milano 1441: Venezia conquers Ravenna 1452: Ca’ Foscari 1453: The Turks conquer Byzantium and end the Byzantine Empire 1454: The peace of Lodi ends 20 years of warfare between Venezia and Milano Greek scholars from Byzantium and Crete traveled to Venezia over the centuries Venezia holds many Greek manuscripts The fall of Byzantium increased the number of Greek scholars in Venezia and creates a large community of Greek refugees Bessarion's library of Greek and Latin manuscripts Printers move to Venezia because freedom of press (Venezia is a Republic, not a dynastic monarchy) and less power of the church censorship Major center of papermaking located around Lake Garda (the Toscolano valley) Venezia is an ideal distribution center because of its sea network Venezia becomes the printing capital of the world Decline in seatrade is compensated by growth in manufacturing (textiles, glass, book printing) Exports to the Muslim world are mostly of textiles, and imports are mostly of carpets 1462: The doge Cristoforo Moro adopts the signoria as the body that co-rules Venezia  1464: The Venetian Pietro Barbo becomes pope Paolo II and ruler of the Papal States 1468: The humanist Cardinal Bessarion, the Latin patriarch of Constantinople, donates his collection of 482 Greek and 264 Latin manuscripts to Venezia 1468: German printers Johann and Wendelin of Speyer (Giovanni and Vindelino da Spira) move from Mainz and open the first printing press in Venezia, and Venezia grants them a monopoly of printing for five years 1469: The first book is printed in Venezia, Speyer's edition of Cicero's "Epistolae ad familiares" 1470-1500: About two million books printed in Venezia by 200 printing presses in 30 years 1470: The Ottomans conquer the island of Negroponte/Euboea and war erupts 1473: The humanist Giovanni Caldiera publishes "De Praestantia Venetae Politiae" 1475: Antonello da Messina moves to Venezia and introduces the new oil medium with the The "San Cassiano Altarpiece" 1478: The lay confraternity Scuola Grande di San Rocco is founded 1479-1516: Giovanni Bellini is placed in charge of the paintings for the Grand Council Hall of the Ducal Palace (all lost in the 1577 fire) 1482: Venezia is the printing capital of the world 1488: Giovanni Caboto/ John Cabot, unable to pay his debts, flees Venezia 1489: The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, designed by Pietro, Tullio, and Antonio Lombardo 1489: Catherine Cornaro, the Venetian widow of the last king of Cyprus, returns to Venezia and cedes Cyprus to Venezia 1489: Pietro Lombardo completes Santa Maria dei Miracoli 1492: The church of Santa Maria Formosa 1492: Cristoforo Columbo's discovery of America begins to shift the trade center from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean 1492: Cima da Conegliano moves to Venezia and paints the "Baptism of Christ" 1495: The printer Aldo Manuzio/ Manutius founds the Edizioni Aldine to print mostly Greek classics, starting with a five-volume folio edition of Aristotle 1496: Maurizio Codussi's astronomical clock 1497: Giovanni Caboto/ John Cabot explores the coast of North America on behalf of England 1499: Vasco da Gama opens a sea route for Portugal to India around the Cape of Good Hope which ends Venezia's monopoly on trade with the Far East 1498: Vittore Carpaccio paints the "Legend of Saint Ursula" for the Scuola di Sant'Orsola 1499: Manuzio prints Francesco Colonna's "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili" 1500: There are 200 "scuole" (lay and religious confraternities) in Venezia 1500: There are 150 printing presses in Venezia 1501: Manuzio prints Virgilio's Latin poems in a new font, later known as "corsivo" or "italic", and in a new pocket-sized format, the first "portable book" 1502: Vittore Carpaccio paints "Saint George and the Dragon" in the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni 1502: Manuzio founds the Neacademia dei Filelleni (New Academy of Philo-Hellenics), a group of Hellenist scholars, to promote classical Greek culture in Venezia 1503: The long war against the Ottomans ends with Venezia losing Greece and Albania and retaining only Dalmatia, Crete and Cyprus 1503: The Greek scholar Janus/ Giovanni Lascaris becomes France's ambassador in Venezia and joins the New Academy of Aldus Manuzio 1505: Giovanni Bellini paints the altarpiece in the church of San Zaccaria 1505: Pietro Bembo writes "Gli Asolani" 1508: Giorgione da Castelfranco paints "The Tempest" for the noble Gabriele Vendramin 1508: The Pope, France, Austria and Spain form the League of Cambrai against Venezia 1509: Pietro, Tullio, and Antonio Lombardo provide sculptures for the Justinian Chapel in the Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna 1509: France defeats Venezia at the battle of Agnadello and the Papal States reconquer Ravenna, a defeat that many interpret as divine punishment for the moral decline of Venezia 1512: The first book in Armenian is printed in Venezia 1513: Manuzio prints Marcus Musurus's edition of Plato's "Dialogues", the first printed edition of Plato in Greek 1516: Venezia institutes the "ghetto" for Jews (amy fleeing the persecution in Spain), who are mainly merchants (Jews must wear a yellow badge and are forbidden to own property or marry Christians) 1516: Tiziano Vecellio/ Titian completes the "Assumption of the Virgin" in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari 1527: Lorenzo Lotto paints a portrait of Andrea Odoni 1527: Adrian Willaert is appointed "maestro di cappella" of St Mark's 1528: Benedetto Bordone's book "Isolario" 1529: Angelo "Ruzzante" Beolco's play "Il Parlamento" 1529: Jacopo Sansovino is appointed "protomaestro", chief architect of Venezia 1530: Titian paints "The Death of Saint Peter Martyr" in the Dominican Church of San Zanipolo 1537: Jacopo Sansovino begins building the Biblioteca Marciana 1537-42: Andries van Wezel/ Andreas Vesalius founds anatomy at the University of Padova 1546: Jacopo Sansovino builds the Loggetta in St Mark's Square 1547: The Sanctum Officium/ Inquisition opens an office in Venezia to repress heresy 1548: Jacopo "Tintoretto" Robusti paints "The Miracle of the Slave" for the Scuola di San Marco 1551: Paolo Veronese arrives in Venezia to decorate the ceilings of the great chambers of the Ducal Palace 1552: Annibale Padovano is appointed first organist of St Mark's 1555-70: Paolo Veronese produces several paintings for the church of San Sebastiano 1556: Daniele Barbaro publishes an Italian translation and commentary of Vitruvius' "Ten Books of Architecture" 1558: Gioseffo Zarlino publishes "Le Istitutioni Harmoniche" 1560: The building of The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is inaugurated 1560: The architect Andrea Palladio's Villa Foscari 1560: Bernardo Tasso publishes the 100-canto epic poem "L'Amadigi" 1562: Torquato Tasso writes the 12-canto epic poem "Rinaldo" before moving to Ferrara 1563: Veronese paints "Le Nozze di Cana" for the Monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore 1564: Tintoretto paints "St Mark's Body Brought to Venezia" for the Scuola di San Marco 1564: Gioseffo Zarlino is appointed "maestro di cappella" of St Mark's 1565: Francesco Franceschi prints the first edition of Ludovico Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" 1565-1588: Tintoretto produces a large number of paintings for the walls and ceilings of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco 1566: Claudio Merulo is appointed first organist of St Mark's 1570: The Ottomans invade Cyprus and Venezia allies with Spain, Genova, Savoy, Florence/Firenze and the Pope to fight the Ottomans 1570: Palladio publishes "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura" and is appointed chief architect ("proto") of the Republic of Venezia, following Jacopo Sansovino 1571: Venezia and its allies (Austria, Spain, the Pope and several Italian cities) win against the Ottomans the battle of Lepanto , the first major naval battle won by ship cannons (Venezia provides 108 galleys and the six galleasses out of 206 galleys of the Christian fleet) 1573: Venezia cedes Cyprus and part of Dalmatia to the Ottomans, leaving Crete as Venezia's largest and richest overseas possession and greatly reducing Venezia's power 1573: Veronese completes "The Feast in the House of Levi", a last-supper painting at the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo 1575: The plague returns to Venezia for three years, killing almost one third of its population 1575: Venezia's population peaks at about 180,000 people Humanism is mostly limited to glorifying Venezia The Venetian renaissance has no major poet The Venetian renaissance has no major sculptor The Venetian renaissance is not about rediscovering classical sculpture Venezia did not have a Roman past and therefore has no interest in rediscovering it Art is more practical than theoretical: painting as decoration (large-scale decoration) and architecture as political and private buildings Major innovation in painting: oil on canvas because it doesn't decay as quickly as fresco Science (Galileo, Vesalius) is more practical than theoretical: painting as decoration (large-scale decoration) and architecture as political and private buildings Emphasis on making money, not on spreading knowledge Deep knowledge of the Islamic world but only for political and economic applications "Spartan" Venezia vs "Athenian" Firenze 1577: A fire destroys all the paintings in the great chambers of the Ducal Palace 1578-87: Tintoretto paints large-scale scenes in the Ducal Palace 1581: The humanist Francesco Sansovino publishes "Venetia, Citta` Nobilissima, et Singolare" 1588: The Biblioteca Marciana is complete 1590: Baldassare Donato is appointed "maestro di cappella" of St Mark's 1592: The new Rialto bridge 1592-1610: Galileo Galilei teach at the University of Padova, which is under Venezia 1593: Andrea Gabrieli publishes his "Intonazioni d'Organo" 1594: Tintoretto paints the vast "Paradise" in the Ducal Palace, the largest painting ever on canvas 1597: William Shakespeare's tragedy "The Merchant of Venice" is set in Venezia 1597: Giovanni Gabrieli publishes the first book of "Sacrae Symphoniae" 1600: Lucrezia Marinella publishes the treatise "La nobilta` et l’Eccellenza delle Donne co’ Difetti et Mancamenti de gli Uomini/ The Nobility and Excellence of Women and the Defects and Vices of Men" 1602: The Dutch East India Company is formed, another formidable competitor for Far Eastern spices 1603: William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" is set in Venezia 1607: Claudio Monteverdi composes the opera "Orfeo" 1609: Galileo Galilei demonstrates his telescope from St Mark's campanile 1610: Galileo Galilei publishes the "Sidereus Nuncius" in Venezia, announcing his discoveries of new stars and moons 1610: Vincenzo Scamozzi's facade for San Giorgio Maggiore 1613: Venezia attacks the Uzkok pirates, who work for Austria 1613: Venezia is the main financial supporter of Savoy in its war against Spain over Milano 1615: Vincenzo Scamozzi publishes the book "L'Idea dell'Architettura Universale" 1617: The Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples attacks Venezia 1619: Paolo Sarpi's "History of the Council of Trent" 1621: Venezia and Spain sign a peace treaty 1624: Claudio Monteverdi composes the opera "Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda" 1630: The plague returns to Venezia 1631: The architect Baldassare Longhena designs the Basilica della Salute 1637: Venezia opens the Teatro San Cassiano, the first opera theatre in the world which is open to everybody 1638: The opera house Teatro di SS. Giovanni e Paolo 1638: The government opens the gambling house Ridotto in a wing of Palazzo Dandolo, the first public casino in Europe 1640: The opera house Teatro San Moise` 1641: The opera house Teatro Novissimo 1642: Claudio Monteverdi composes the opera "L'Incoronazione di Poppea" 1643: Venezia inaugurates Europe’s first opera house 1645: The Ottomans invade Crete and Venezia starts a 24-year war over Crete, disrupting Venezia's lucrative trade with the Ottomans 1667: The capital of Crete surrenders to the Ottomans and Venezia loses Crete after four centuries 1669: Venezia surrenders Crete to the Ottomans but triples the size of its territory in Dalmatia 1683: The first coffee house in Venezia 1684: Venezia joins Austria in an anti-Ottoman league and its troops, led by general Francesco Morosini, invade Ottoman Greece 1687: The architect Antonio Gaspari completes Baldassare Longhena's Basilica della Salute 1688: Morosini is elected as doge in the middle of the war with the Ottomans 1699: The Treaty of Karlowitz ends the war with the Ottomans and assigns the Peloponnese to Venezia 1703: Antonio Vivaldi is appointed master of violin at the Pio Ospedale della Pieta` 1711: Antonio Vivaldi publishes the concertos of "L'Estro Armonico" 1715: The Ottomans reconquer the Peloponnese from Venezia 1718: Austria saves Venezia from the Ottomans but Venezia becomes de facto a vassal of Austria and loses most of its maritime empire 1720: Antonio Vivaldi composes the concertos "The Four Seasons" in Mantova/Mantua 1720: Caffe' Florian opens 1727: Benedetto Marcello composes the psalms "L'Estro Poetico-armonico" 1730: Giovanni "Canaletto" Canal paints "The Entrance to the Grand Canal" 1738-48: Tiepolo paints 40 frescoes at the church of the Gesuati 1740: Giovanni "Canaletto" Canal paints "A Regatta on the Grand Canal" 1743: The architect Giorgio Massari completes the Chiesa dei Gesuati 1745: Carlo Goldoni stages the play "Il Servitore di Due Padroni" 1753: Carlo Goldoni stages the play "La Locandiera" 1754: Giuseppe Tartini publishes the "Trattato di Musica Secondo la Vera Scienza dell'Armonia" 1756: Carlo Goldoni stages the play "Il Campiello" 1758: Carlo Rezzonico is elected pope Clemente XIII while architect Giorgio Massari completes the palace Ca' Rezzonico 1760: Carlo Goldoni stages the play "I Rusteghi" 1761: Carlo Gozzi stages the play "L'Amore Delle Tre Melarance" 1762: Carlo Goldoni stages the play "Le Baruffe Chiozzotte" Decline of Venetian spice trade (which is mostly overland) due to Portuguese and Dutch sea trade with the Far East The plague of 1575-77 and then again 1630 disrupts economic life Wars against pirates, Spain and Ottomans are costly Loss of Crete after the loss of Cyprus Venetian nobles lose the appetite for risky trade and prefer to retire to their countryside villas Northern Europe (that enjoys more abundant timber), especially Holland, learns to build faster and cheaper ships than Venezia Venezia largely untouched by the Enlightenment 1765: Francesco Guardi paints "Veduta del Canal Grande verso Rialto" 1772: Giorgio Massari completes Palazzo Grassi 1774: The Teatro San Benedetto, Venezia's leading opera house, is destroyed by a fire 1792: The Teatro La Fenice opens 1797: Napoleon conquers Venezia, plunders churches (notably Veronese's "Le Nozze di Cana" and St Mark's bronze horses) and ends the carnival 1815: The Congress of Vienna assigns Venezia to Austria 1866: Venezia joins the newly formed Kingdom of Italy |
| (Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi) |