997 



VENICE. 



VENICE. 



993 



carrying on the commerce with Venezuela ; but the cultivation of cacao, 

 as well as of indigo, was more promoted by the smuggling trade with 

 the Dutch, than by that of the company, and in 1778 the company 

 dissolved, and the trade was opened to all the ports of Spain. Vene- 

 zuela remained under the sway of Spain till 1SOS, when Napoleon I., 

 having deposed the royal family, made his brother Joseph king of 

 Spain. Venezuela, like all the American colonies of Spain, declared 

 for the ancient dynasty ; but being dissatisfied with the measures of 

 the regency of Spain, it proclaimed its independence in 1810, but in 

 1812 was brought back to its ancient political condition. In 1813 

 Bolivar, a native of Venezuela, made an unsuccessful attempt to 

 liberate his native country from the yoke of Spain ; in 1816 he was 

 more successful In that year a war began between the Spaniards 

 and the inhabitants, which lasted till 1823, when the Spaniards who 

 had remained in the country gave up Puerto Cabello, their last place 

 of refuge. In 1821 Venezuela united with New Granada and Quito, 

 and formed one republic under the name of Colombia, [COLOMBIA] ; 

 in 1830 they separated amicably, and since that time they have consti- 

 tuted the three republics of Venezuela, New Granada, and Ecuador. 

 In the year in which the union was dissolved Venezuela formed a new 

 constitution, which underwent some modifications in 1843. By it 

 Venezuela has a central government, the legislature of which is invested 

 with the power of making laws on all subjects. The legislative power 

 is vested in a Congress, which coiuiats of a house of representatives 

 and of a senate. Each province sends two members to the senate, 

 and one member to the house of representatives for every 25,000 

 inhabitants. The executive power is vested in the president, who, 

 like the vice-president, is chosen for four years. Like the other South 

 American republics Venezuela has since its independence been in a 

 continually disturbed state ; and like too many of them it has a heavy 

 public debt, the interest on which it has for a long time made no 

 attempt to pay. Its finances are in a thoroughly disorganised state, 

 as may be judged from the fact, that in 1S53 its expenditure was 

 about three times its receipts. 



(Humboldt, Voyage am Region* Equinoctialei du Noureau Conti- 

 nent ; Depona, Voyage & la Partie Orientate de la Tcrre Feme; Lavasse, 

 Statiilicol, Commercial, and Political Detcription of Venezuela; Ches- 

 terton, Narrative of Proceedingi in Venezuela; Hall, Columbia, ill 

 Preient State, <tc. ; Letter* from Columbia; Campaign! and Cruiiet in 

 Venezuela; Codazzi, Reiumen de la Geografia de Venezuela.) 



VKXICE (Venttia), tbe capital formerly of the Republic of Venice, 

 now of tbe Crownland of Venice in Austrian Italy, is situated in 

 45* 26 N. lat, 12" 20' E. long., and has a population of about 100,000, 

 exclusive of the garrison. It is built on a cluster of islets, about 80 

 in number, that rise in the middle of the lagoons, or shore laiei, 

 which here skirt the Adriatic, and about 2 miles from the mainland 

 of Italy, with which it is now connected by a viaduct of above 200 

 inline, supporting a railway to Mestre, when is the junction of the 

 Venice-Milan and Venic- -Trieste railways. The lagoons are divided 

 from the Adriatic by a long narrow tongue of bind called Littorale, 

 which however is broken into inlands by a few openings whereby ships 

 enter the canals that lead up to the city. The islands on which the 

 city is built are divided from each other by narrow canals, which serve 

 for tbe purpose of communication, as streets in other towns. Above 

 450 bridges connect the various islands. Narrow streets and lants, 

 alleyi and courts, separate the buildings of each island from one 

 another, and there are also narrow quays along tbe canals. Carriages 

 and horses are useless, and therefore not seen in Venice; and their 

 place is supplied by boats called gondole, which are continually plying 

 in all parts of the town, and of which it is said then are above 4000. 

 The circumference of the city is nearly eight miles. There is a tide 

 from the Adriatic which rises three feet over the lagoons, part of 

 which is left newly dry at tbe ebb, except the seven large canals by 

 which communication is kept up between Venice and the ports of 

 Malamocco and Cbioggia on the Adriatic, and the landing places of 

 Mestre, Fuaina, and others on the mainland. 



Tbe city is divided into two parts by a canal broader than the rest, 

 called Canal Grande, or the Great Canal, over which there is only one 

 bridge, the Hialto. Another and much broader canal, or rather arm 

 of the sea, bearing the names of Canal della Uiudecca and Canal di San 

 Marco, divides the city properly so called from the long island and suburb 

 of La Uiudecca, and from the neighbouring island of San Giorgio. 



The finest part of the town is the district of San Marco, which con- 

 tains the splendid cathedral dedicated to the patron saint of Venice, 

 with its lofty detached belfry, the handsome square (Piazza) before it, 

 with its arcades and numerous coffee-house* the fashionable place of 

 resort of the Venetians ; aud the vast and massive ducal palace, which 

 wan the seat of the republican government, and contains the halls of 

 the various councils of the administration. The vast hall in which the 

 tireat Council of the republic used to assemble is now the repository 

 of the library of St. Mark. All the apartments of the Palace of the 

 Doges are adorned with paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, 

 and othVr masters of the Venetian school, which commemorate the 

 great events in the history of the republic. The library of St. Mark 

 contain* 06,000 volumes, and about 5000 manuscripts. 



Tbe Piazzetta, or lesser square of St. Mark, which is open on one 

 aide to the sea, has two handsome pillars of granite brought from 

 Urceee in the 12th century. Upon one is the winged lion, of brass, 



the ancient emblem of the republic, known by the name of the Lion 

 of St. Mark; and upon the other is a statue of St. Theodore, a patron 

 saint of the republic. 



Among the many remarkable churches of Venice, besides St. Mark's, 

 the following deserve especial mention: 1. San Giorgio Maggiore, 

 which was constructed by Palladio, and contains the monument of 

 the Doge Domenico Michieli, the conqueror of Jaffa, Tyre, and Ascalon, 

 who afterwards, when attacked by the Byzantines, sailed with his 

 fleet through the Archipelago, and ravaged many of the islands, so as 

 to deserve the title of ' Terror GraBcorum," which is on his epitaph. 

 2. II Redentore, also by Palladio, one of the handsomest churches in 

 Venice, situated on the island of La Giudecca, is, like most other 

 Venetian churches, rich in paintings. 3. Santi Giovanni e Paolo has 

 numerous and splendid monuments of doges, senators, commanders, 

 and other illustrious men. The church is also adorned with paintings, 

 some of which are historical. A bust of Titian above the door of tbe 

 vestry-room preserves the memory of that great master. 4. I Frari, 

 a splendid church which contains numerous monuments, among others 

 that of Cauova, and several good paintings. In the suppressed convent 

 of the Frari are deposited the archives of the old republic, which were 

 taken to Paris, but were afterwards restored. 



The banks of the Canal Grando are lined with splendid marble 

 mansions of the nobility, whose historical family names have in many 

 instances outlived the fortunes of their former possessors. Some of 

 them are used as government offices, others are let to foreign consuls 

 and other strangers. Several of the Venetian palaces possess valuable 

 paintings and sculptures. In the Monfrini palace is a rich gallery, 

 containing among others the pointing of the ' Three Portraits ' by 

 Giorgione, which Byron in his ' Beppo ' has so highly extolled. The 

 Academy of the Fine Arts, of which the patriotic Count Cicognara 

 was the originator, has been the means of saving many masterpieces of 

 the Venetian school which otherwise would have been lost to Venice. 

 Many of them belonged to the suppressed monasteries ; others were 

 restored from Paris in 1815 ; some, such as the famous Assumption 

 by Titian, were discovered in a corner of a church, where they lay 

 forgotten, covered with dust and filth. A painting by Gentile Bellini 

 represents a procession passing through the square of St. Mark in the 

 15th century, with the costumes and localities of that age. 'The 

 Slave Emancipated by St. Mark' is a masterpiece of Tintoretto. 

 The academy has altogether about 400 paintings, besides models of 

 the Elgin and ..Egina marbles, and of other masterpieces of sculpture ; 

 and a collection of original drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, Michel 

 Angelo, and Kaffaele. 



The arsenal or dockyard of Venice, begun in 1304, celebrated in 

 Dante's ' Inferno ' (canto xxi), long the main instrument of the power 

 of the republic, formerly employed 16,000 workmen, a number which 

 was reduced in the last century to 1500. The arsenal is situated at 

 the eastern extremity of the town, is surrounded by a high wall, and 

 occupies an area of about three miles in circumference. It has been 

 recently fortified by tbe Austrian government. The arsenal of Venice 

 is now the dockyard for the Austrian navy. A naval college is 

 established at Venice. A body of artillery aud a battalion of marine 

 infantry are attached to tbe service of the navy. The arsenal contains 

 a number of docks and basins, foundries for cannon, forges, a rope-walk 

 above 1000 feet long, a vast timber-yard, and an armoury. There is 

 also a monument to the memory of Angelo Kmo, great admiral of 

 Venice, who died in 171*2, and was the last who caused the Venetian 

 flag to be respected in the Mediterranean. This monument to Emo 

 was one of the first works of Canova. At the land entrance of the 

 arsenal, which i a gate adorned with several statues, are two marble 

 lions, brought from Athens by Morosini in the latter part of the 17th 

 century. 



Venice has several theatres ; that of La Venice is one of the largest 

 in Italy. The Venetians are fond of music; and tho songs in their 

 dialect, set to music by native composers, are very pretty. The 

 Carnival at Venice is still very long; bub masks are not used now 

 except by the lower orders. The people are naturally lively and 

 light-hearted : their festivals and public rejoicings, however noisy, are 

 unattended by quarrels or disorderly conduct. The educated classes 

 have a social affability and ease of manners which ure very fascinating. 



Venice has a gymnasium, a lyceum for scientific instruction, a patri- 

 archal seminary for clerical students, two colleges for female education 

 under the direction of nuns, an atheussuni of sciences and literature, 

 and the academy of the fine arts already mentioned. Besides the 

 library of St Murk there are libraries belonging to the different colleges 

 and academies, as well at* to several convents and palaces of the nobility. 

 The printing-press of Venice is still active. 



The charitable institutions are numerous, but not more so than what 

 is absolutely required by the decayed condition of Venice. NVIu'n the 

 French evacuated the town in 1814, nearly one-half of the population 

 was in want of charitable assistance. The Austrian administration 

 after the restoration applied itaelf to alleviate the distress of Venice. 

 Pecuniary assistance from the treasury of the kingdom, a butter 

 administration of the communal revenue, a great diminution of local 

 taxation, the establishment of a free port, aud important public works 

 undertaken at the expense of the government, in great measure 

 answered the intended purpose. Out of the treasury of Austrian Italy 

 above two millions sterling were spent for the relief of the city of 



