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Venice-Camerlenghi Palace

Camerlenghi Palace …
..near Rialto bridge, Camerlenghi Palace is the only palace on the Grand Canal from where you can see the “Canalazzo ” (an old name of the big channel ) from each of its (five instead of four) sides.

It was place of financial magistrates, including the “Consuls of the Merchants “and ” Sopraconsoli of Merchants”. Due to this important economic function, the ground floor of the building facing towards the Grand Canal was the prison for insolvent debtors ,( for that, the edge of the channel in front of the palace is called “Fondamenta de la preson” the prison’s dam). The exposure of prisoners on Rialto was used as a stark warning to those who passed.
The chamberlain,(camerlengho) , was the public cashiers of the Republic ,who superintendents the activities of collection and redistribution of income. “The chamberlain of the council” was the person prepared for the administration of large amounts of money available to the powerful “Council of Ten” for its oversight secret activities

It was the great Doge Andrea Gritti, enlightened man and patron whose name still stands on a commemorative inscription on the façade , to begin the work almost contemporary of the bridge reconstruction (which was previously wooden drawbridge, to allow the shift of ships with tall masts and barge ).It was built between 1525 and 1528 to a design by Guglielmo dei Grigi , inspired by Codussi and Lombardo (two of the most famous Venetian sculptors and architects of the sixteenth century).

One time this building looked more sumptuous , the facade was embellished with different precious and colored marbles because of the important role played . Today we see only a reflection of its former magnificence , and most of these designs have been lost over the time. The windows that open across the front facing the Grand Canal are arched , separated by pilasters and adorned with friezes
The interior of the building were of great wealth,once, and this was due to the custom established for all the Venetian magistracy , which at the time of leaving office , the judges leave as a gift to the building a picture with a religious theme on which it was visible its emblem or a portrait.A large amount of paintings, often of great value, soon came to adorn the offices ( still are evidence of this use of the finest portraits of ” Avogadori ” that you can find in the Doge’s Palace ” Avogaria de Comun” ) .

<a href=”http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g187870-d194251-Palazzo_Ducale-Venice_Veneto.html#85740340″><img alt=”” src=”http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/05/1c/4b/34/palazzo-ducale.jpg”/></a><br/>This photo of Palazzo Ducale is courtesy of TripAdvisor” In 1560 , on the day of St. James,a thief, G.Battista d’Orazio della Terra di Lavoro, was accused of having entered the palace Camerlenghi and stealing a treasure ;a chest that contained eight thousand ducati.Like punishment was cut off his right hand and was hanged in Rialto . ”

…But the austerity of this building seems a bit tempered by the particular decoration the two pillars at the sides of the entrance , which may appear somewhat ” licentious ” : on one side a man with “a paw scratch instead of the genitals” and the other, a woman sitting with ” her vagina on fire “.
The popular tradition links this representation to something that happened during the long work for the reconstruction of the Rialto Bridge ( between 1514 and 1587 ) , when a man and a woman arguing about the extreme slowness with as the work proceeded , one exclaimed , that the bridge would be finished when there would come a fingernail instead of his genitals and the other,an old woman , when her vagina was burned down .
The Venetians , ironic and always lovers of the jokes, immortalized them as well .

Unfortunately , with the fall of the Republic, in 1806 the collection and the works
ended up divided between the Pinacoteca di Brera , Modena, several state-owned stores and Vienna.Some of these works have returned to Italy but were no longer placed in their original location, but some are over the Gallerie dell’Accademia and other adorn the walls of the various rooms of the Giorgio Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio.
Today, passing near this ancient building ,we think that is a marvel , as it can still challenge the stigma of time , given the uneven pillars that give the idea of a precarious stability and to be always on the verge of surrender , but apparently. The design criteria were thus severe as to have given an excellent strength to the building , that even today we can admire it.

After the fall of the Republic of Venice, the building housed over the years , the Court of Appeals , Office of the State Property and registry. Currently in the Palace of Camerlenghi is the seat of the Court of Auditors, thus continuing the old tradition of the judiciary and financial reporting.

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Venezia-Palazzo dei Camerlenghi

I Camerlenghi,( cassieri dello Stato che sovrintendevano le attività di riscossione)
Un Camerlengo era posto all’amministrazione della cospicua quantità di denaro a disposizione del potente Consiglio dei Dieci per l’esercizio delle sue attività di sorveglianza segreta.

Palazzo dei Camerlenghi
,a Rialto e l’unico palazzo sul Canal Grande dal quale si vedono le acque del “Canalazzo” da ognuno dei suoi (cinque invece quattro) lati.
Era sede di magistrature finanziarie, tra le quali i Consoli dei Mercanti ed i Sopraconsoli dei Mercanti. Data questa importante funzione economica, il piano terra del palazzo verso il Canal Grande era destinato a prigione per i debitori insolventi e ler questo la fondamente antistante il palazzo è chiamata Fondamente de la Preson). Questa esposizione dei prigionieri in piena Rialto serviva da severo avvertimento per quanti passavano.
Fu il grande doge Andrea Gritti, uomo illuminato e mecenate il cui nome ancora spicca su un’iscrizione commemorativa posta sulla facciata, a dare avvio ai lavori quasi contemporanei sia del ponte (che prima era in legno e levatoio nel mezzo per permettere il passaggio ai navigli con alte alberature e al bucintoro), che di questo edificio.
Fu edificato tra il 1525 ed il 1528 su progetto di Guglielmo dei Grigi, ispiratosi al Codussi ed ai Lombardo.

Un tempo questo fabbricato appariva molto più sontuoso,la facciata era arricchita con diversi marmi colorati e pregiati per via del ruolo così importante svolto al suo interno. Oggi non vediamo che un riflesso della sua antica magnificenza e la maggior parte di questi decori sono andati persi nel tempo. Le finestre che si aprono su tutta la facciata rivolta verso il Canal Grande sono centinate, separate da lesene e adornate con fregi particolari.

Anticamente anche gli interni dell’edificio erano di grande ricchezza, e ciò era dovuto alla consuetudine stabilita, per tutte le magistrature veneziane, che al momento di lasciare l’incarico, i magistrati lasciassero in dono al palazzo un quadro con soggetto religioso sul quale fosse ben visibile il proprio stemma o ritratto.Una grande quantità di tele,spesso
di grande pregio, finì ben presto per adornare gli uffici (tuttora sono testimonianza di questo uso i bei ritratti di “Avogadori” che si trovano all’ “Avogaria de Comun” in Palazzo Ducale).

“Nel 1560 ,nel giorno di San Giacomo ,un certo G.Battista d’Orazio della Terra di Lavoro fu accusato di essere entrato nel palazzo dei Camerlenghi e di aver rubato un scrigno che conteneva otto mila ducati.Gli fu tagliata la mano destra e fu impiccato a Rialto.”
…L’austerità di questo edificio appare però un po’ stemperata dalla particolare decorazione
dei capitelli dei due pilastri posti ai lati del portale d’ingresso, cosa che potrebbe apparire quantomeno “licenziosa”: da una parte un uomo con una zampa unghiata al posto dei genitali e, dall’altra, una donna seduta con la vagina in fiamme.
La tradizione popolare lega questa rappresentazione ad un fatto accaduto durante i lunghissimi lavori per la ricostruzione del Ponte di Rialto (fra il 1514 e il 1587), quando un uomo e una donna del popolo discutendo animatamente sulla estrema lentezza con la quale procedevano i lavori , avevano esclamato, l’uno, che il ponte sarebbe finito quando gli sarebbe nata un’unghia al posto dei genitali e, l’altra, quando la vagina le fosse andata a fuoco.
I veneziani, ironici e sempre amanti degli scherzi, li immortalarono così.

Purtroppo, con la caduta della Repubblica, nel 1806 il Regno Italico si disfece della collezione e le opere finirono divise fra la Pinacoteca di Brera, Modena, vari depositi demaniali e Vienna.
Una parte di queste opere sono poi ritornate in Italia ma non sono più state collocate nella loro sede originaria, bensì alcune sono finite alle Gallerie dell’Accademia e altre adornano le pareti di vari ambienti della Fondazione Giorgio Cini sull’isola di San Giorgio.
Oggi meraviglia, passando accanto a questo antico palazzo, come esso possa ancora sfidare l’onta del tempo, visti i pilastri dissestati che danno l’idea di una precaria stabilità e di essere sempre sul punto di cedere, ma evidentemente i criteri costruttivi furono così severi da aver conferito alla fabbrica una solidità eccezionale, che ha fatto sì che ancora oggi noi possiamo ammirarla.

Caduta la Repubblica di Venezia, l’edificio ospitò negli anni la Corte d’Appello, uffici del Demanio e del Registro Attualmente nel Palazzo dei Camerlenghi ha sede la Corte dei Conti, continuando in tal modo la tradizione secolare che vuole qui la sede della magistratura finanziaria.

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VENICE -burning the old woman or the wich

Venice-“burning the old woman”or “burning the witch”
The origins of the ritual of “burning the witch” are very old and is linked to the tribal reverence that entire agricultural civilizations had with Mother Earth , in particular , it wants to celebrate the victory of the summer to the bad and sterile winter.
L’essence of the ceremony is intended to enhance and bring fertility to the fields.

La Befana (Epiphany), corruption lexical Epiphany (from the greek epifaneia ) through bifanìa and Bethany , is a folk figure linked to the Christmas holidays , which was typical of some Italian regions and then spread throughout the Italian peninsula,less known in the rest of the world.
According to tradition, it is a very old woman who flies on a broom to visit the children in the night between the 5th and 6th of January (the night of the Epiphany ) and fill the stockings left by them, specially hanging on fireplace or near a window . The children who during the year have been good, will receive sweets,candy , nuts or small toys . On the contrary, those who have misbehaved find stockings filled with coals. The origin of that feast was probably connected to a set of pagan rites , dating from the tenth to sixth centuries BC, about the seasonal cycles related to agriculture , or related to the harvest of the past year , now ready for reborn as a new year, widespread in Central and South America , and then across the peninsula .

On the day of the Epiphany, in various countries of the North – East of Italy , including Venice (Saint Erasmo island) , we are witnessing a tradition that attracts hundreds of people:

“The burn of the old woman”
“The old woman was carried in procession , surrounded by a procession of boys with pots and sticks procured a terrible noise . This serve to revive the sad atmosphere of Lent.
Over a large wagon a huge puppet from human forms , the Old : curve , battered , his nose hooked immeasurable .

But who was the “old” ? Returning to the symbolism , the old woman was a wooden puppet who often held in his hands the spindle and distaff ( always refer to the time that passes ) and was filled with grapes and figs , chestnuts, bean , apples and small gifts to the villagers who dispensed before being burned at the stake , a sign of the old year dying
offering the “seeds ” from which would grow the new year (hence the custom of the reading of the will .) The presence of the cot is the symbol of fertility , the old attribute that certainly lost , but that does not matters, what matters is the essence of the ceremony itself which no doubt is intended to enhance and bring fertility to the fields.
She was paraded through the village, door to door , as if it were an evil deity . Becoming the scapegoat , was charged with the responsibility for everything bad happened in the world,or consumed in the small community where the ritual .

During the course of the mournful procession , the order is maintained by another shocking and grotesque character : the Harlequin . But that’s not typical of carnival cheerful figure , in fact, on this occasion appears in its original version , the one linked to the agrarian cults . The mask does not occur with the famous colorful costume , but shabby and dirty face of coal taken directly from hell. He wears a hat ,and in his hair has a rat and a stuffed snake. In ancient times,to this demon were attributed enormous size ,and just like those of old times, armed with a club led the ” Furious army .”
After a summary trial where they will be listed in the misdeeds she made during the crop year ,the old woman was going to die in a nearby field ” asfegher ” (not seeded)
. Her end was horrible, burnt alive after a summary trial .The fire that “burns the winter ” opens the doors to the arrival of summer , is hailed as an event and hope to reborn.
Most of us celebrate, probably without being aware of, the death of the old year, the end of winter, the old mother nature which will let place to the young nature, in other words the new year’s spring. The “crone” embodied the old year is useless . The Bonfire of the old is ultimately an act of purification and there is no doubt that it is the result of a merger between disparate elements from archaic source .

The Church, however, did not take kindly to this event, which often falling in the middle of Lent, it seemed discontinue the character of purification and penance. The process to the old , became gastronomic Carnival orgies , and therefore the exaltation of purification and abstinence of Lent, but also the memory of the sure fate :man’s death.

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Venice ,the Carnival

The word carnival comes from the Latin “carnem levare” (“eliminate meat”) as originally indicated the banquet which was held on the last day of Carnival (Mardi Gras), immediately before the period of fasting and abstinence of Lent.

The first time it is mentioned the Carnival in Venice is in a document of 1094 by the Doge Vitale Falier.
Another document talks of the ancient Venice Carnival, which is made ”public holiday” in 1296. At that time the carnival lasted six weeks, from 26 December until Ash Wednesday (the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent).

However, the carnival has much more ancient traditions that we recall, the ancestor worship of passing from winter to spring, cults present in almost all civilizations ; the Latin Saturnalia or the Dionysian cults in which the motto was “Semel in insanire year licet” (“once a year is not allowed to have brakes”)

Studies on the carnival’s anthropology explain that between Epiphany and Lent “the world turned upside down: the child was disrespectful to his father, the sexes exchanged, was no longer forbidden to mock the powerful. Transgress the law meant,however, celebrate it. Violating the law only once, during the controlled party , equivalent to recognize his lordship over the rest of the year. It was part of the great illusion of the carnival in one place, unique in the world, where anything can happen, where every view continues to enchant.

In the eighteenth century the Venetian Carnival reaches its peak and international recognition .The notorious protagonist of this era and his adventures in Venice,made him one of the most famous characters of the time: Giacomo Casanova.
At that time the Venetians have opened numerous small theaters, aimed by an popular audience and many talented playwrights, representing increasingly sophisticated and complex works.

Venice was all part of a big stage in disguise, in which actors and audience merged in a unique and immense procession of shapes and colors, in a large open-air party: trumpets, fifes, drums, acrobats, jugglers, vendors street vendors, public dances where anyone could frolic in disguise as he wanted. The vendors were selling all kinds of merchandise, from seasonal fruits to rich fabrics, from spices to food from distant
countries, especially from the orient.
The most common masks were Harlequin, Brighella, pants or just a black cloak; the cloak, and on the face, the classic black mask; the Bauta, behind which the patricians and the ladies mingled with the people “to became mad of joy”.
Bauta-a white mask under a black tricorn hat and dark coat complemented by a wraparound – widely used in theater.
The greeting that sounded continually when you met a new “character” was simply: Hello mask.

The masks provide anonymity typical of Carnival, so music and dancing could be rampant, besides the fact that social differences disappear and you could safely take around the government and the noble, without fear of retaliation. It gave the illusion to the lower classes to become, for a short period of the year, similar to the powerful .
Obviously this is to give an outlet to the social tensions

Gnata- a mask with the likeness to a cat, accompanied by a basket on his arm that usually contained a kitten.

The days were more intense on Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras “giovedì grasso and martedì grasso”. A special attraction was, and still is, the Flight of the Dove, an acrobat who went down with the racing from the Campanile di San Marco to the Loggia of the Palazzo Ducale.
The show was not always the same: during the carnival 1680 “Sante from Ca ‘Lezze, managed to climb up to the belfry with a live horse, then climbed on top of “the angel ” where performed a thousand pirouettes”.
“During the following year carnival Sante went up with a small boat, pretending to row with true comedian mastery and come to the belfry climbed on the head of ” the angel” with tightrope games” .
Other attractions were the Strength of Hercules, where participants created human towers and the Machine fireworks.

But especially at night, wearing a disguise and with the complicity of the dark, it was easier to commit crimes of various kinds, such as muggings, robberies and harassment, without the slightest chance of being recognized.

So as early as February 22, 1339 were introduced the decrees to limit: of circulate in mask for the city during the night, the entrance to the sacred places with mask ,to bring any item of a dangerous nature for the safety of others, or the prohibition of prostitution in mask.
The Carnival of Venice was suspended in 1797 due to the Napoleonic occupation, although Burano and Murano, however,continued the festivities ,in a minor key.

In 1979, after almost two centuries, the old tradition of Venice Carnival officially resources from its ashes, thanks to the initiative and efforts of several professional
associations and to the citizens.Since then, each year is dedicated to a particular theme

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Venezia Carnevale

Carnevale di Venezia

La prima volta in cui viene citato il carnevale in Venezia è in un documento del 1094 del Doge Vitale Falier.
Un altro documento parla dell’antico Carnevale di Venezia, il quale viene reso festa pubblica nel 1296. All’epoca il carnevale durava sei settimane, dal 26 dicembre fino al Mercoledì delle Ceneri.

Tuttavia il Carnevale ha tradizioni molto più antiche che rimandano ai culti ancestrali di paesaggio dall’inverno alla primavera, culti presenti in quasi tutte le civiltà basti pensare ai Saturnalia Latini o ai culti dionisiaci nei quali il motto era “semel in anno licet insanire” (“Una volta all’anno è lecito non avere freni”)

Gli studi di antropologia sul carnevale spiegano che tra l’Epifania e la Quaresima il mondo si capovolgeva: il figlio mancava di rispetto al padre, ci si scambiava di sesso, non era più vietato farsi beffa dei potenti. Trasgredire la legge significava, tuttavia, celebrarla. Violare una sola volta la legge, durante la festa comandata, equivaleva
a riconoscere la sua signoria su tutto il resto dell’anno.Si entrava a far parte della grande illusione del carnevale in un posto, unico al mondo, dove tutto può accadere, dove ogni scorcio continua ad incantare.

Nel XVIII secolo il Carnevale di Venezia raggiunge il suo massimo splendore e riconoscimento internazionale.Sono di quest’epoca le famigerate avventure che videro protagonista, a Venezia, uno dei più celebri personaggi del tempo: Giacomo Casanova.
In quel periodo i Veneziani aprirono numerosi piccoli teatri, rivolti anche ad un pubblico popolare.Emersero numerosi e talentuosi autori teatrali, diventando celebri rappresentando opere sempre più raffinate e complesse.
In tutta venezia si faceva tutti parte di un grande palcoscenico mascherato, in cui attori e spettatori si fondevano in un unico ed immenso corteo di figure e colori,in una grande festa a cielo aperto: trombe, pifferi, tamburi, saltimbanchi, giocolieri,venditori ambulanti, balli pubblici dove chiunque poteva folleggiare mascherato come voleva.
I venditori ambulanti vendevano ogni genere di mercanzia, dalla frutta di stagione ai ricchi tessuti, dalle spezie ai cibi provenienti da paesi lontani, specialmente dall’oriente.
La maschere più comuni erano Arlecchino, Brighella, Pantalone o semplicemente un mantello nero, il tabarro, e sul viso, la classica maschera nera, la bauta, dietro la quale i patrizi e le dame si mescolavano al popolo e si davano alla pazza gioia.

Bauta- maschera bianca sotto un tricorno nero e completata da un avvolgente mantello scuro -molto usata in teatro.

Le maschere tipiche del Carnevale garantiscono l’anonimato, quindi la musica e i balli potevano essere sfrenati, oltre al fatto che le differenze sociali scomparivano e si potevano prendere tranquillamente in giro il governo e i nobili, senza temere ritorsioni. Si dava l’illusione ai ceti più umili di diventare,per un breve periodo dell’anno, simili ai potenti indossando una maschera sul volto.Ovviamente si trattava di dare una valvola di sfogo alle tensioni sociali.

Gnata -una maschera con le sembianze da gatta, accompagnati da una cesta al braccio che solitamente conteneva un gattino.

I giorni più intensi erano il giovedì grasso e il martedì grasso. Un’attrazione speciale era, ed è tutt’oggi, il Volo della Colombina, un acrobata che scendeva con delle corse dal Campanile di San Marco fino alla Loggia del Palazzo Ducale.
Lo spettacolo non era sempre uguale: durante il carnevale del 1680 tale Sante da Ca’ Lezze riuscì a salire fino alla cella campanaria con un cavallo vivo, salì poi sopra l’angelo dove si esibì in mille piroette. Durante il carnevale dell’anno seguente
Sante salì addirittura con una barchetta, facendo finta di vogare con vera maestria da commediante e, arrivato alla cella campanaria risalì sulla testa dell’angelo con giochi da equilibrista.
Altre attrazioni erano le Forze d’Ercole, dove in partecipanti creavano delle torri umane con grande sforzo di muscoli e la Macchina dei fuochi d’artificio.

Il saluto che risuonava di continuo nell’atto di incrociare un nuovo “personaggio” era semplicemente: Buongiorno signora maschera.

Già a partire dal 22 febbraio 1339 furono introdotti dei decreti per limitare:di circolare in maschera per la città, l’ingresso in maschera nei luoghi sacri di portare con sé qualunque oggetto di natura pericolosa per l’incolumità altrui,o divieto della prostituzione in maschera.

In effetti, soprattutto durante le ore notturne, indossando un travestimento e con la complicità del buio, era più facile commettere reati di varia natura, come scippi, ruberie e molestie, senza la minima possibilità di essere riconosciuti.

Il Carnevale di Venezia venne sospeso nel 1797 a causa dell’occupazione napoleonica, anche se a Burano e Murano continuarono comunque i festeggiamenti, anche se in tono minore. Solo nel 1979, quasi due secoli dopo, la secolare tradizione del Carnevale di Venezia risorse ufficialmente dalle sue ceneri, grazie all’iniziativa e all’impegno di alcune associazioni di cittadini.Da allora ogni edizione viene dedicata a un particolare tema.

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Venice-history , Lion of St. Mark

Venice- Lion of St. Mark

The lion became the symbol of the St.Mark because his Gospel begins like that :” remember the voice of the Baptist in the wilderness ,rises like a roar , announcing the coming of Jesus to men “; well, the lion quickly became also the symbol of the Serenissima.

St. Irenaeus , Bishop of Lyons , interprets the four living Tetramorph ( symbols of Middle Eastern origin ) as symbols of the four Evangelists : Mark ( the winged lion ) , Luke ( who later became the bull calf ) , Matthew ( the winged man ) and John ( the eagle ) .

In Venice the symbolism of the lion of St. Mark comes from an ancient tradition
, according to which St. Mark’s going to Alexandria in order to convert the infidels of
that country, on a dark stormy night, his ship was boarded, seek shelter in one of the fishermen’s huts on the island, “called Rialto”. After a frugal dinner with the fishermen the saint leaned on the ground,fell asleep and in the dream he saw an angel ” of a winged lion form ” who thus spoke to him , “On this island ,a wonderful city will rise and in this great day you will find your final resting place , and you will find the final peace <Pax tibi , Marce , Evangelista meus.Hic requiescet corpus tuum >. ” ( Peace to you , Mark, my evangelist . shall rest here your body. ) ” . Mark woke up in the morning and told his dream to the fishermen , before setting sail again to the Egypt, where he died .
The book, often mistakenly associated with the Gospel , reproduce the words of welcome from the lion , in most of the representations and , is usually open ,bearing the Latin inscription ” PAX TIBI SPEED EVANGELISTA Mevs »

The body of St. Mark was smuggled by two venecians traders,in a basket of vegetables and pork, to escape of the Muslim guards . One story tell us that when they arrived in Venice from Egypt, Alexandria (where Mark had founded the first Christian church ) ,in the year 828 , a huge crowd waiting for them , and when they set foot on the ground, an intense scent of roses spread to the pier .
Piazza San Marco
With the arrival of the St. Mark’s body and the building of the first Basilica (St. Mark’s ), the area began to assume its characteristic of monumental heart of the city.In front of the big channel on a pedestal houses the statues of Todaro , ( Theodore ) first saint patron of the city, slaying the dragon, and St. Mark, depicted as a winged lion,a very old sculpture .

The lion , raised , such as S. Theodore, on a column of Egyptian granite with medieval capital , depicts a bronze winged lion (perhaps a gilded once ) , with full mane advancing with open jaws .The earliest mention is in 1293 , (however, is already talk of restorations) , but the column on which seat was brought to Venice in 1172 , between these two dates ( mid-thirteenth century . approximately ) must be the placement of the lion.It was removed by Napoleon, who placed him in the Place des Invalides in Paris , and returned to Venice in 1815 , when it fell, and broke into many pieces, and was restored .

It was believed originally to be a ” chimera “to which were added the wings, then Romanesque , Assyrian , Indian , Chinese and Sassanian ,statue,but there is reason to believe that , like other ancient Venetian statues come from Constantinople or from the Levant .
During the Republic of Venice , the Lion was represented everywhere ; outside the buildings, as the stone statues , inside of them, on frescoes and paintings ,to decorate columns and standard-bearer,on coins and , of course, on banners and flags .

The spread of the winged lion , in territories subject to the Serenissima , make it become one of the few symbols ,wellknown throughout the world as the Lion of St. Mark

The Lion of St. Mark ( “Marciano” lion or winged lion of St. Mark ) with the closed book that was performed in a time when Venice was at war and so was contrary to the word ” Pax ” (” Peace “), ( so the winged lion , the symbol representing St. Mark the Evangelist could not keep open the Gospel with the words Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus ) is a legend not founded.
In fact the book, always closed with clips and sometimes in plain sight, was the norm until the second half of the the fourteenth century , throughout the Gothic Age .
The winged lion with the book closed was also the symbol of the ” Magistrate of the Health ” at the time of the Serenissima.

this is also all the ‘ classic iconography of Leo, is in fact rests on the ground that
at sea , holding up the book (open) with the written classical , it is ” Andante ” with the background of the Doge’s Palace and the Laguna , is , in essence , a perfect synthesis of what Leo meant for the Serenissima .

lion in moeca
” Moleca ” in Venetian dialect means ” crab ” : the feathers of the wings of the type of lion said” In moleca ” seem to open itself up as claws.In fact seems to emerge from the water, and so carries an additional ideological message , referring to the purity of Venice, born from the sea , free from political interference from nearby territorial powers .

“lion with open book” ,is a paint exposed in an office of a judiciary in S.Mark.
The writing on open book says :

” Linquitur odium hic et metus omnis rebus ardor ” and ” Plectitur hicque scelus libratum cuspide veri” which means :
” Here you leave aside hatred , jealousy and every impetuosity ” and ” Here will be punished the crime balanced on the needle of truth ”

The lions from the entrance of the Arsenale

The oldest of the four lions is to the right of the entrance of the Arsenale .
The most immediate comparison is with the lions of the agora of Delos , dated by the middle of the seventh century . a. C. , which this lion must belong .

The most important perhaps , but each of the lions has interesting story , one coming from sacred island of Delos, in the archipelago of the Cyclades Islands in Greece ( the second to last on the right front door, Arsenal ) , dated the sixth century BC, in memory of the Venetian conquest of Corfu in 1716.

Of different origin and age the lion comes to the left of the entrance , according to the inscription that accompanies it,come from Piraeus, and the body has two inscriptions in runic characters , memories of Scandinavian mercenaries ( Varangi ) that in 1040 , in the service of Byzantium, were sent to quell an insurrection in Athens.The lion was a well-known monument of Piraeus, was there from the first or second century . His fame was such that the Italians called the Piraeus,the Port of the Lion.

The lion statue , white marble and approximately 3 meters high , is carved in Pentelic marble , which is well known , it was not used for the construction of artistic monuments before the time of Pericle. As some art historians said this lion can be dated back to the fifth century BC.

The first traces of human presence in the Veneto region date back to the Lower Paleolithic .The objects are present in many places , the most important in “Riparo Tagliente” in Valpantena . Here, in a grave,was found a stone engraved with the figure of a lion , stirring so the legend of the Lion of San Marco with its prehistory .

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Venice – The rules inscribed on the stone

The rules regarding the daily life of the Venetians, were inscribed on the stone to confirm that the respect for the citizens and the consumers was on the first place , and remained stable over time.
On the year 1300 many of the laws of Venice provided the “protection of minor child workers” , the “separation of interest between doctors and pharmacists” even an “institution of public health service”, and a set of rules at the vanguard of justice and the public institution .

In 1542 it was decreed a law that established that the acceptance of complaints “were cited” only if there was at least three witnesses to testimony the facts .(see the article ” Mouths of the Leon” ) http://dipoco.altervista.org/venezia-mouths-leon/

” Gobbo di Rialto” was used as a podium for the official proclamations : “the statutes “of
Venice or “the name of the offenders” would have been proclaimed by an officer standing on the block , he had to read the same laws standing up on the “Pietra del Bando”(stone of the notice) near Piazza San Marco.

Regarding the rules inscribed on the stone at the Rialto Market in the ” market of the Fish” , is a plaque with the ” minimum dimensions of the fish” that were sold , to safeguard the fishing, and , at the same time make uniform the price of this food consumed in big quantity in Venice.The same type of plaque is located in campo Santa Margherita ,(Saint Margaret champ). On these stones are engraved the rules for fishing , the size of the fish and the mollusc propper size to be sold.

An other stone , located in Campo SS. Apostles , with a great ” lion moleca “(see San Mark’s leon) ,engraved at the top, determined the quality of bread and flour which were to be used,giving an precise definition to this staple food.

Even today, on the banks of some rivers you can see a “C” which means ” common sea ” – conventional reference -which coincided with the top of the ” greenish- black ” strip caused by the oscillation of the tide along the banks of the chanals.The buildings were built ” three feet over common ” – safe from flooding.

Other stone plates were used for the moral life of the citizens, urging not to blaspheme ,
( the Serenissima had Catholic religion, but his government was secular ! ) .

In the resort Moranzani (7.68 km from Venice, near Malcontenta ) , named after the Roman name ; Maurentius ,there was a place of control to collect the toll of the duty of the boats that sailed on the river Brenta.In this place we can see two marble slabs where are carved the old rates of transit.The locations becomes an important point of transit for the “Burchiello boat” (see the wells http://dipoco.altervista.org/venice-the-wells/), barges and commercial boats, carrying the necessary food to the cities and towns.
It’s wonderful still reread those rules on these plates ,that remember you a very careful Republic ,to its environment, and its citizens who willingly accepted rules and laws , which were not allowed to seek or cheat others!

The “ stumbling blocks”

A few days ago on “Campo del Ghetto Nuovo” in front of the Israelite Nursing Home, the place from which 21 guests were deported to the Nazi concentration camps , have been placed , the ‘ stumbling blocks ‘, with name and surname of the victim deported and died in concentration camps .

Hidden Venice .

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Venice – Calatrava

Opened in September. 11 , 2008, the bridge of the Constitution, better known as “the Calatrava bridge “cross the Grand Canal from Piazzale Roma to the railway station Saint Lucia .The structure is steel, the floors (made of glass of Saint Gobain) , Istrian stone and Classic Grey Trachit from Montemerlo . Even the railings are made of glass , ( a beautiful idea ofthe transparent glass ), with brass handrails .Inside the handrails are installed LED bulbs that draw the ray of light in the glass railings .
A modern design ,but stylistically not fits with the environment of Venice , even if is built from glass and marble from Istria, the most widely material used in Venice.But the artwork changes our mind about the aspect that has to have a bridge ,and this one is very different from the other works,that made famous the architect, the essence of discretion, a span from one side to the other without cables or other kind of support .

Santiago Calatrava was born July 28, 1951 in Benimamet near Valencia, where attended the School of Art and in 1974 he graduated in architecture.

Aboutt 94 m length, and with 22 thousand passers per day, the stairs of the bridge handicraft made became sensitive and suffer continues damage,because the stairs ,unique and delicate,do not hold up to the weight of thousands of trolleys and suitcases.

The Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava is famous worldwide for his dynamic style and majestic at the same time, for the daring projects related to engineering (bridges, especially), and for such works as the Art Museum of Milwuakee, the James Joyce Bridge in Dublin, the high-speed train station and the highway bridge in Reggio Emilia.
A distinctive feature of the figure of Calatrava is the constant search for different forms of expression, attention, toward the exact sciences and engineering as well as to the plasticityand the aesthetics of form. From time to time “architect-sculptor” or “architect-engineer”, Calatrava league, in a game of references, the basic elements of his research: design, architecture and sculpture.

Uncomfortable but fashion.

The design of the stairs is not for a normal kind of stairs,(the highness of a normal step we are habituated is 16 -18 cm); the double of length of some steps fool the eye when is going down ;the humidity of the lagoon and the use of glass for some parts of useable stair make the bridge very slippery.That led the tourists, distracted by the beautiful landscape, to fall , the fall being an continually motive of complaints to the municipality ; until this time (late 2013) 5000 complaints.

Calatrava’s style combines a visual conception of architecture interacting with engineering principles, his works are often inspired by the forms and structures found in nature. He also designed several railway stations.Most of his works are located in Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Canada. In Italy Calatrava has made three viaducts along the new axis of Reggio Emilia, the fourth bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, the city of sports in the university area of Tor Vergata in Rome.

some of the architectural works:

City of Arts and Sciences, 2005 Valencia, Spain.

Tenerife Auditorium, 2003 Santa Cruz, Canary Island.

Mediopadana station of Reggio Emilia Italy

On february 2011 ,four young from Jesolo , two boys and two girls, have passed the Constitution Bridge ( Calatrava ) by car ( a VW Polo) and then they parked the car in Campo San Geremia and went to take a trip to Venice.
When they returned , they found the police officers , who took them to the police station ,
where they tried to explain the reasons for the action .

“Have used the famous bridge as a way to pass the Grand Canal with a car will cost
them dear” , ensures the superintendent Fulvio Della Rocca .

The driver and two of his friends, a boy and a girl , who were part of the group, were charged with driving in state of intoxication, and drunk and disorderly ( examinations have revealed a high alcohol level ) while a fourth component , a girl, was not charged,being sober .

The mayor noted that the first checks have revealed no particular damage to the bridge, and then, after expressing a very hard opinion on an ” unbalanced gesture ” , ends with a joke:
” It was a further test for the bridge .”

One of his most recent projects is a residential skyscraper composed of twelve terraced houses stacked in the shape of a cube one on top of the other. The terraced houses go up along a central axis according to a scale so that each of they have their own roof. The design of the townhouse in the sky attracted a very rich clientele , willing to pay the
large sum of thirty million U.S. dollars for each cube. It will be built in New York in the financial district opposite to
East River .

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Venezia -Calatrava

Un progetto moderno, ma stilisticamente non inquadra con lo scenario, anche se costruito in vetro e marmo dell’Istria, il materiale più usato a Venezia. L’opera cambia la nostra idea riguardo l’aspetto che deve avere un ponte, quello di Venezia è molto diverso dalle opere che lo hanno reso famoso, l’essenza della discrezione,una campata da una sponda a l’altra senza cavi o altri tipi di supporto.(The Independent )

Santiago Calatrava nasce il 28 luglio 1951 a Beninamet nei pressi di Valencia, dove

frequenta la Scuola d’Arte e,nel 1974, si laurea in architettura.

Inaugurato 11 sett 2008 il ponte della Costituzione meglio noto dopo la costruzione come ponte di Calatrava è il ponte che attraversa il Canal Grande fra piazzale Roma e la stazione ferroviaria Venezia Santa Lucia. La struttura è in acciaio, i pavimenti in vetro della Saint Gobain, pietra d’Istria e Trachite Grigia Classica di Montemerlo. Anche i parapetti sono in vetro,(bella l’idea del vetro trasparente) con corrimano in ottone.
All’interno dei corrimano sono installate lampadine a led che dissipano il raggio di luce nei parapetti in vetro.

L’architetto spagnolo Santiago Calatrava è famoso in tutto il mondo per il suo stile dinamico e maestoso allo stesso tempo, per gli arditi progetti legati all’ingegneria (ponti, soprattutto), e per opere come l’Art Museum di Milwuakee, il James Joyce Bridge di Dublino, la stazione dell’Alta Velocità e il ponte sull’autostrada a Reggio Emilia.
Segno caratteristico della figura di Calatrava è la costante ricerca di forme espressive differenti, l’attenzione, verso le scienze esatte e l’ingegneria così come verso la plasticità
e l’estetica delle forme. Di volta in volta “architetto-scultore” o “architetto-ingegnere”, Calatrava lega, in un gioco di continui rimandi, gli elementi fondanti della sua ricerca: il disegno, l’architettura e la scultura.
Con 94 m lunghezza,e 22 mila passanti al giorno, i gradini del ponte realizzati
in modo artigianale diventao sensibili e subiscono danni continui perché gli scalini (unici e delicatissimi) non reggono al peso delle migliaia di trolley e valigie.
Scomodo ma di moda,è stato progettato male (non ha l’altezza di un gradino normale ; il raddoppiamento in lunghezza di alcuni gradini ingannano l’occhio quando scendi, l’umidità lagunare e l’utilizzo del vetro per alcune parti calpestabili rendono il ponte particolarmente scivoloso.) facendo cadere i turisti,attratti dallo stupendo paesaggio;che presentano continuamente degli esposti al comune ;fino a questo momento (fine 2013) 5000 denunce.

Lo stile di Calatrava combina una concezione visuale dell’architettura all’interazione con i principi dell’ingegneria; i suoi lavori spesso sono ispirati alle forme ed alle strutture che si trovano in natura. Ha inoltre disegnato numerose stazioni ferroviarie.

La maggior parte delle sue opere realizzate si trova in Svizzera, Germania, Francia, Spagna, Canada. In Italia Calatrava ha realizzato tre viadotti lungo il nuovo asse di Reggio Emilia, il quarto ponte sul Canal Grande di Venezia e , la città dello sport nel comprensorio universitario di Tor Vergata a Roma.

alcune delle opere architettoniche realizzate:

City of Arts and Sciences, 2005 Valencia, Spagna.

Tenerife Auditorium, 2003 Santa Cruz, Canary Islanda.

Stazione mediopadana di Reggio Emilia -Italia

….quattro giovani di Jesolo, due ragazzi e due ragazze,hanno superato il Ponte della Costituzione, ( Calatrava),con l’auto (una vw Polo) poi hanno parcheggiato in Campo San Geremia e sono andati a fare un giro per Venezia.
Quando sono tornati, hanno trovato ad attenderli gli agenti di polizia, che li hanno portati in questura, dove hanno cercato di spiegare le ragioni del gesto.Aver usato il celebre ponte come strada per passare da una sponda all’altra del Canal Grande costerà loro caro, assicura il questore Fulvio Della Rocca.Il conducente e altri due, un ragazzo e una ragazza, che facevano parte del gruppo,sono stati denunciati per guida in stato di ebbrezza,e per ubriachezza molesta (gli esami hanno rilevato un alto tasso alcolico) mentre un quarto componente, una ragazza, è risultata sobria.Il sindaco rileva che le prime verifiche non hanno evidenziato particolari danni al ponte ,poi,dopo aver espresso un giudizio molto duro su un “gesto squilibrato”, chiude con una battuta:

“Si è trattato di un ulteriore collaudo per il ponte”….

Uno dei progetti più recenti è un grattacielo residenziale composto da dodici case a schiera a forma di cubo impilate una sulla cima dell’altra. Le case a schiera salgono lungo un asse centrale secondo uno schema a scala in modo che ognuna di
esse abbia il proprio tetto. Il design della “townhouse in the sky “ha attirato una clientela molto ricca, disposta a pagare la forte somma di trenta milioni di dollari americani per ogni cubo. Sarà costruito a New York nel quartiere finanziario di fronte all’East River.

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venice-the red porphyry

Venice-the red porphyry

The Basilica of San Marco in Venice is the main church of the city, and one of the main monuments of Piazza San Marco.On the floor of the atrium in front of the main entrance , the lozenge of red porphyry,is the exact spot where the emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire),knelt before the Pope Alexander III .After the peace of Venice ( 1177), Alexander III recognizes the independence of the Republic of Ancona, who had so tenaciously resisted to Barbarossa in 1174, the city in exchange recognized to the pope the right to an levy and annual income.

The ancient red porphyry comes from Mons Porphyrites, and had origin from an volcano ,about 630 million years old. The dacite-andesite composition led to the formation of large effusive layers of material, tuffs and ignimbrites.

At the corner facing the San Marco square is “the stone of the call”, a trunk of red porphyry column whence the “commandador” read the laws of the Republic and the calls to citizenship.
Overwhelmed in 1902 from the ruins of the tower of St. Mark, “restrained the fall of debris and prevented that they hit the delicate columns from the corner of the Basilica. “

Difficult to work with because of its hardness – it seems little used at the time of the
pharaohs – but is certainly the most important and expensive stone . Before to become a symbol of luxury ,the red porphyry ,had personified the symbol of divine power the representation of nobility, prestige and wealth.
At the corner of the basilica of San Marco towards the square, in a block of red porphyry height of about 130 cm, are engraved the figures of “the tetrarch”, the two Caesars and two Augusti.” The four figures are dressed in a richly decorated armor,covered with a cloak and a little headpiece fell on his forehead. The left hand holds the sword, the right hand of one characters is laid in a formal gesture of embrace on the left shoulder of the other “

The solemn faces and, red porphyry,used in the ancient world to symbolise the emperor and his family, show the imperials characters .The left statue on the east side has a missing fragment of foot (found in 1965 among the ruins of Philadelphion in Istanbul, looted in 1204 during the expedition “diverted by the Venetians”,on the Fourth Crusade)

According to some scholars, the red color of the red porphyry is due to the presence of piemontite widespread in rock according to others , most reliable,to the high concentration of iron oxides.

The Head of Carmagnola

The image of Carmagnola is associed with the head of red porphyry placed in the balcony of the basilica,(San Marco ) stuck on the pillar of the balustrade in the southwest corner .This head,severed at the base of the neck,should perhaps serve as a warning for the people.

“Francis Bussone , called Carmagnola ,was a captain-general of the Venetian Republic ; found guilty of treason and connivance with the enemy , was beheaded in 1432. The accusation is unjust for this captain,because he has dedicated all his military capabilities to Venice. His head , however, must be exposed to the people,according to the custom ,triggering ,in the popular imagination a legend,remained alive for a long time .”

In fact, the head ( red porphyry) come from the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 .As large as the original, has a hole on the top of the head to hung it to the wall. The large eyes framed by arched eyebrows had once filled of glass paste , while the heavy ornament of the crown mimics inlays of precious stones and gold plates .
Due to the facial features and headdress the most accepted theory, (based on a comparison with the gold sovereign coins minted between 534 and 538 in Constantinople and with the mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna ), seem that it is the ” head” of Justinian I,the last Roman emperor of the East.

As to the origin of the head, many scholars have thought it could have been taken by the Venetians from Philadelphion ,the square of Constantinople.

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venice-the red porphyry