City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley

Author:Roger Crowley [Crowley, Roger]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780679644262
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2012-01-24T05:00:00+00:00

In their haste they failed to raise the drawbridge behind them. “We pursued [the Venetians] with fire and with great losses on their side as far as the piazza of Chioggia. There was great destruction … the piazza was stained red with Christian blood and the grievous and cruel massacre of the Venetians.”

Eight hundred and sixty Venetians were killed; four thousand were taken prisoner; the women and children cowered in the churches. Doria brought his galleys into safe anchorage inside the lagoon. The Genoese now had a secure foothold within reach of Venice, to which it was directly connected by the Lombardy Channel, a deepwater arterial route through the lagoon down which even the deeper-draft Genoese galleys could access the city. Doria was just twelve miles from Saint Mark’s Square. The flag of Saint George fluttered in the piazza of Chioggia; the lord of Padua’s from its ducal palace; Hungary’s from an adjacent tower. Francesco Carrara of Padua entered the city and was carried shoulder-high into the main square by Genoese soldiers, shouting, “Carro! Carro!” They eyed the larger prize with the anticipation of a sack to equal that of Constantinople.

The news reached Venice at midnight. The bells of the campanile started to clang loudly; soon all the parishes were repeating the alarm. People came armed, running to Saint Mark’s Square to learn of the collapse at Chioggia. There was terror and panic, weeping and chaotic shouting, expectations that a Genoese war fleet would come nosing up the Lombardy Channel at any minute. The citizens began to bury their goods in anticipation of an inevitable sack. Others were more resolute, declaring that “the state would never be lost so long as those who remain can man a galley or handle a weapon.” Gradually, the old doge quieted the crowd with calm words and a steadfast face. The following day, he sent three ambassadors to Chioggia under safe conduct to sue for peace. After a lengthy oration, they handed Doria a piece of paper setting out their conditions for peace. It was blank. The Genoese could write their own terms so long as Venice remained free. But Doria had come to destroy the hated rival. His reply was haughty: “There will be no peace until first we have put a bridle on those horses of yours on the portico of Saint Mark’s … then we shall be at peace. This is our intention and that of our Commune.” Then, referring to the Genoese prisoners, he casually went on, “I don’t want them. Keep them locked up, because I intend to come and rescue all your prisoners in a few days.” Venice would have to fight to the last gasp.

Within the city, the bell was rung to call the popular assembly to hear the response. The gathered crowd was now given an unvarnished account of their plight. A year earlier, Genoa’s defeat at the sea battle of Anzio had nearly torn that city apart. This was to be a similar test of Venice’s character, its patriotism, and class coherence.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.