The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice (36 page)

It is not known what befell the island of Constanziaca. But time has long seen the lagoon waters rise. The island has disappeared, drowning its secrets with it.

The world’s first official lazaretto was built in Venice in 1423, on the island of Santa Maria di Nazareth, known today as Lazaretto Vecchio.

From April 1423, shortly after Francesco Foscari’s election, the Council of Ten acquired unprecedented powers.

Between 1428 and 1500, a staggering number of men suspected of sodomy were persecuted, exiled, imprisoned or put to death in both Florence and Venice. This violent movement, led by such government bodies as the
signori di notte
in Florence and the Council of Ten in Venice, arose from fear of God’s displeasure. It came to be known as
la grande paura
.  This ‘great fear’ has been attributed in part to one of the most influential religious forces of the time– Bernardino di Siena.

In 1436, it was declared that a guild for the Venetian
mascherari
should be formed. Non-existent until then, this guild of mask makers operated like hundreds of other guilds in the Republic. Like all guilds, it served to maintain control over the
popolani
.  No man or woman in Venice could practice a craft without first joining the relevant guild. By their nature, guilds imposed guidelines for good practice and punished those who did not abide. In certain cases, the guilds moved against strangers or foreigners from working in the Republic. Where once, it would have been possible for foreign mask makers to operate independently, producing masks irrespective of guidelines and standards, now the
mascherari
of Venice laid down stringent rules. Had she lived in Venice then, one such as Magdalena Visconti could never have begun her magic trade.

By the 16
th
century, over fifty percent of Venetian patrician women ended in a convent - most nuns were confined against their wills. By that century, Venetian convents were seen by some as nothing more than ‘public whorehouses’.  The San Lorenzo convent was a wealthy convent with a reputation for hosting a salon like gathering place for licentious patricians in the 17
th
century.

Born on 14 February 1404– an Aquarian, the exceptionally clever Battista Alberti, who later named himself “Leone”, lived to become the epitome of the Renaissance man. During his life, he demonstrated genius as an artist, a mathematician, an athlete, an architect, a writer, a philosopher, a linguist and a cryptographer.  In 1466, he forged the Alberti cipher, a code that proved impossible to break in his time. He is considered the father of Western Cryptology.  Leon Battista Alberti’s genius was to be equaled by only one man several years his junior–Leonardo da Vinci.

The Venetian
cancellerias
, known today as the Venetian State archives, are the world’s second largest after the archives of the Vatican. They are also the world’s oldest and most detailed, with documents dating from the 9
th
century. Today they are housed in the Convento di Frari, in San Polo.

Elected shortly after Doge Tommaso Mocenigo’s death, Francesco Foscari went on to wage a series of ruinous wars against Milan until 1454. As predicted by Doge Mocenigo, Foscari’s focus on gaining
terrafirma
, came at a great cost. Francesco Foscari was later blamed for failing to prevent the losses of Venice’s eastern territories. In 1453, Constantinople, the center of Venetian trade with the Orient, was taken by the Turks.  The effects on Venice would be devastating for years to come.

To the question—“Did Venezia lose all she had?”—we can refer our reader to her subsequent losses in 1509, and her devastation under Napoleon from 1797. As far as we know, Mocenigo’s prophecy came true. To this day, he is noted for his wisdom and his uncanny insight into the future.

The witches of Benevento have kept their secrets until today.

“It has been written that you shall be free,

And so shall you be free,

In body, mind and spirit.”

“Everything which lives is of male and female essence.

Do not exalt one without the other.

Come to know both as to be complete.

Blessed be the free in spirit.”

Armizare
– literally ‘Art of Arms’; the term for martial arts in medieval Italy

Arsenalotti
– inhabitants and workers of the Arsenale; also called, Castellani; they were members of the popolani, which means they could not vote

Avogadore
– antique term for the Italian word,
Avoccato
(lawyer); a custodian of the proper administration of judicial matters according to the law; a guardian of the public interest who was called upon to apply and enforce the laws of the Republic; invested with certain inquisitor powers

Bauta
– a full-face mask, dating as far back as the 13th century, when the first document quoting its name was written; worn by commoners and nobles alike to protect one’s identity; due to its shape, it tended to modify the voice’s pitch

Bravo
– a ruffian, usually armed, prone to thieving, murdering and other dangerous exploits; often patronized by highly placed members of society

Ca’
– Venetian short form for Casa

Calle
– a street

Calli
– plural of street

Calza
– male hose; also a club or guild where membership was usually reserved to patricians; as early as the 14
th
century, the make and color of a patrician’s hose might indicate the Compagnie della Calza (Trouser Club) to which he belonged

Camicia
– a long sleeved linen or silk blouse usually worn beneath a doublet

Campo
– a square; in Venice these were, and still are, numerous; a campo is usually attached to a small parish community and comprises a well, stores and a church

Cancelleria
– chancellery which today, are known as ‘archives’; a restricted bureau within the Palazzo Ducale, where government documents were filed and stored; the initial home of the Venetian archives before files became voluminous and were stored elsewhere

Candia
– the Duchy of Candia was the official name of Crete during the period in which it was colonized by the Venetian Republic

Carampana
– a Venetian term for prostitute, meaning a woman of vulgar aspect or ‘slut’; so named after the Ca’ Rampani area, in which prostitution proliferated since 1358

Carnivale
– season of feasting and masked reveling which commenced before the Nativity and ended on Shrove Thursday at the start of the Lenten period

Casa
– term for ‘house’ but also, its residing family; can apply to the buildings owned by a certain Venetian family

Cassoni
– plural of cassone; a marriage chest, usually made of wood

Cioppa
– a pleated coat with hanging sleeves; a type of tabard

Compagne
– the term for young men and women who dressed together in costumes during the late 14
th
and early 15
th
century

Compagnia dei corrieri
– postal system; in Venice, this was established in the 14
th
century

Condottiere
– a mercenary of varying rank, usually employed in the army

Deliberazioni
– ‘deliberations’; largest body of non-Council of Ten documents held within the cancelleria secreta; comprising pacts and treaties originating from the Senate, instructions to ambassadors, foreign policy, home government relations with Rome and report by governors

Denuncio segreto
– secret denunciations which any Venetian could make against another provided there were two witnesses for the deed raised; encouraged by the Council of Ten to keep the population in check according to a principle of divide and rule but also to keep the Signoria informed and in power

Dottore della peste
– a medieval physician specializing in the treatment of plague victims, usually bearing a beaked mask containing several herbs known for their air purifying properties

Fabriano –
the name of a powerful feudal family who dominated the early paper manufacturing process in Italy; from the 14
th
century, Fabriano paper factories existed in Florence, Bologna, Parma, Milan and Venice and the paper making techniques which had originated in China and were first brought to Spain via the Arabs, was a closely guarded secret; over the course of the 15th century, vellum was gradually superseded by paper

Felze
– the cabin in the center of a gondola; this was eliminated in later centuries as it encouraged various intrigues

Filze
– a file; in the context of the Venetian archives

Fio
– term for ‘son’ in the Venetian dialect

Fondamenta
– the street running along the canal

French Disease
– or the pox, were both names for syphilis; in Italy, the disease was not officially identified until its spread during the Napoleonic invasion, when it was attributed to the French

Gazzetta
– literally ‘little magpie’; a coin that was usually paid to hear the latest (oral) news before the advent of the printed news

Il Fiore
– an Italian collection of 232 sonnets imitated from the 13
th
century French courtly poem,
Le Roman de La Rose

Jettatura
– the evil eye

Jettature
– a projector of the evil eye; person known for casting ill-will upon another, usually via a compliment that one does not mean or which is filled with spite or envy

Maleficio
– one of the five bells in the San Marco campanile tower; it would announce executions

Mamluk
– mostly Turks; slave warriors of medieval Islam, who, in Egypt and Syria, overthrew their masters and formed the Mamluk dynasty; the Mamluks ruled Egypt and Syria from the 13
th
to 16
th
century

Marangona
– one of the five bells in the San Marco campanile tower; it would announce the beginning and end of the working day

Mascheraro
– a mask maker

Meretrice
– term for a public prostitute; prostitutes were legal in the Venice Republic

Molo
– the narrow embankment between the Palazzo Ducale and the lagoon, during the 15
th
century; there is today a much broader promenade extending to the lagoon known as Riva degli Schiavoni

Mosche
– tiny pieces of dark fabric, usually taffeta, placed in selected spots on a woman’s skin as beauty marks; they were worn to highlight the whiteness of a woman’s skin

Muda
– the armed convoy entrusted with escorting merchandise and protecting the interest of Venetian merchants from pirates and other threats at sea; protection by the muda was one of the advantages of becoming a Venetian citizen

Natale
– Italian for Christmas

Nicolotti
– a working class dweller living in the west of Venice (originally from the parish of S. Nicolò dei Mendicoli); had a long rivalry with the Castellani; also part of the non-voting popolani.

Nona
– one of the five bells of the San Marco campanile tower; it rings to signal noon

Nonne
– a nun

Occulto
– hidden; and pertaining to supernatural forces

Parrochia
– a parish, one of many in Venice; self-contained religious communities originating from the isolated nature of some Venetian islands prior to the advent of bridges

Piazzetta
– the smaller square beside the Palazzo Ducale, flanking the Piazza; it faces the lagoon and is overshadowed by two granite towers erected in the 13
th
century

Ponte delle Tette
– literally ‘bridge of tits’; a San Polo landmark so named after its resident prostitutes who were encouraged to exhibit themselves by the Signoria in the hope of luring men and hence discouraging increasing homosexual practices

Puttana
– a whore; the plural form is puttane

Relazioni
– dispatches from ambassadors posted outside Venezia; reports that the ambassadors read to the Senate upon their return home

Rio
– a canal stream

Sala Gradenigo
– a large room the in Eastern wing of the Palazzo Ducale; used for meetings of the Great Council until 1423; it has now been destroyed

Sala di Maggior Consiglio
– commenced in 1340, this large room in the Southern façade of the Palazzo Ducale would eventually replace the Sala Gradenigo; it was first used when  Francesco Foscari became Doge

Saracen
– a term used in medieval Europe to denote a Muslim or an Arab

Sbirri
– plural of
sbirro
; armed law-enforcers some of who answered to the Council of Ten

Scarmitor
– a master of arms; someone trained in swordsmanship

Sestiere
– a district; Venice has six including San Marco (home of the Basilica), Castello (home of the Arsenale), San Polo (home to the Rialto bridge and market), Santa Croce, Dorsoduro (comprising Giudecca Island) and Cannaregio

Signori di Notte
– the lords of the night; armed spies, operating in secret, and usually answering to the Council of Ten

Sinestra
– Latin word for ‘left-handed’

Sinistra
– Italian for ‘left’

Sottoportico
– a passage beneath one or more buildings’ foundations; a porch which passes between houses.

Strega –
Italian for witch

Tarocchi
– Italian for Tarot; the 15
th
century Italian Tarocchi is one of the oldest known and was believed to have originated from Spain; cards were initially based on Mamluk card games which were prohibited on account of their Muslim origin

Volto
– an oval shaped mask which covers the lips

Wells
– the dungeons on the lower levels of the Palazzo Ducale

Zoccoli
– tall platform shoes worn as early as the 1400s in Italy and Spain; from the Italian word "zocco," meaning a stump or a block of wood