The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mentor, No. 27, Venice, the Island City, by Dwight L. Elmendorf.

“The Pearl of the Adriatic,” she has been called. “Queen of the Sea” is another of the poetic terms applied to her. If all the expressions that have been used by admirers to pay tribute to the beauty of Venice were gathered together, they would make a glossary of eulogy of considerable size. It was inevitable from the beginning that Venice should receive such homage; for she has a beauty that distinguishes her from all other cities. She is absolutely unique in picturesque attraction and in romantic interest. There are many cities that draw the admiration of the traveler: there is but one Venice, and anyone who has been there and felt her spell cannot wonder at the worshipful admiration that she has received from the time of her birth in the sea.

The fascination of Venice for the traveler is such that ordinary terms of appreciation are insufficient. The city takes complete possession of one, and visitors who have surrendered to her charms are referred to as having the “Venice fever.” All who love beauty have had more or less violent attacks—the artist is most susceptible to it.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

Venice is built on a group of little islands. At a depth of from ten to fifteen feet there is a firm bed of clay; below that a bed of sand or gravel, and then a layer of peat. Artesian wells dug to the depth of sixteen hundred feet have shown a regular succession of these beds. On this base, piles, where they have been used for the foundation, have become petrified. So the city may be described actually as having been built up from the bed of the sea. In its physical aspect it may be summed up by saying that Venice stands on 117 small islands formed by something like 150 canals and joined together by 378 bridges.

There is but little in the way of sidewalks. Occasional narrow paths of stone skirt the canals; but in many places the water laps the very walls of the buildings, and transportation is to be had only by boat. Of course there are many lanes and passages among the houses; but the general effect is such as would make an impression on the traveler of a city set in the sea, and the people live, move, and have their being on either stone or water. They are strangers to groves, shady lanes, and country places. Some of the inhabitants of Venice have never seen a horse or a cow.

The city is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal, which is nearly two miles in length and varies from 100 to 200 feet in width. It makes a fine curve like the letter S, and by this it displays to advantage the magnificent residences that line it. There on its gleaming surface are to be seen the brilliant pageants of the city,—gondolas and autoboats in great number, gay parties, chatting and laughing and tossing flowers, and the whole stretch a blaze of intoxicating color. Some of the most attractive views of Venice are to be had not from within the canal, but from some point out in the lagoon. Your map of Venice will show you the city not literally situated in the Adriatic Sea, but located within the lagoon and protected from the outer sea by long sand hills strengthened by bulwarks of masonry. From the strip to the mainland, across the lagoon, where Venice is situated, the distance is about five miles, and in this stretch of water you will see many striped posts called “pali.” These mark the navigable channels about the city.

ST. MARK’S

It is not the physical conditions alone that make Venice unique. In the beauty and interest of its domestic architecture it ranks before any city in the world. The mosaics of Venice have been famous for centuries, and are today the marvel of all who see them. The spot where Venice has massed the gems of her beauty is St. Mark’s Place.

The view of Venice most familiar to stay-at-home bodies is the one to be had from across the water looking at St. Mark’s Place, and including, besides the cathedral of St. Mark, the Doge’s (doje) Palace and Campanile (cam-pa-nee´-le) Tower, and in some cases a glimpse of the Bridge of Sighs. The Piazza of St. Mark is called the “Heart of Venice.” All the life of the city surges there at certain times, then sweeps from there through its various channels. It is gayest on summer evenings, when the population turns out to enjoy the fresh air and listen to the military band. At that time the piazza is brilliant with fashionable people. Go there on a moonlight night, and you will find it a dream of beauty. You must see, of course, the pigeons of St. Mark’s. Flocks of them circle about the square or gather in groups on the pavement, wherever food is to be found. The pigeons of St. Mark’s used to be fed at public expense. It is not necessary now: there are always plenty of travelers that will pay them this pleasant toll for the sake of being photographed in their company. St. Mark’s Place is 191 yards in length, and in width 61 yards on one side and 90 on the other. The beautiful effect of it can hardly be expressed. It is paved with trachyte and marble, and surrounded by buildings that are not only important historically but most interesting architecturally.

The Church of St. Mark, now a cathedral, was begun in 830. The year before that the bones of St. Mark, the saint of Venice, were brought from Alexandria, and they now lie buried in the church. This marvelous building is Romanesque in style. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was remodeled and decorated with most lavish magnificence. In the fifteenth century it received some Gothic additions which enhanced its effect. In such short space as this it is impossible to do justice to the beauty of St. Mark’s. It is best by far to rest on what Ruskin has said in his “Stones of Venice”:

“The effects of St. Mark’s depend not only upon the most delicate sculpture in every part, but eminently on its color also, and that the most subtle, variable, inexpressible color in the world,—the color of glass, of transparent alabaster, of polished marble, and lustrous gold.”

The building is in the form of a Greek cross, with mosaics covering more than 4,500 square feet. Over the upper entrance are four horses in gilded bronze, counted among the finest of ancient bronzes. They may have adorned the triumphal arch of Nero or that of Trajan in Rome. The Emperor Constantine sent them to Constantinople, and from there they were brought by the Doge Dandolo to Venice in 1204. These horses were taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1797, and for awhile crowned a triumphal arch in that city. After Napoleon’s downfall, in 1815, the bronzes were restored to their original place at Venice.

PALACE AND CAMPANILE

Close beside the cathedral of St. Mark stands the square Campanile, the most prominent feature in all Venetian views. Standing 325 feet high, the Campanile always dominated the picturesque low stretch of Venice’s skyline and gave a peculiar distinction to the whole scene. It seemed indeed to many Venetians and to lovers of Venice all over the world that the city had lost its crowning feature when, in 1902, the Campanile collapsed. It was originally erected in 900 and rebuilt in 1329. After it had fallen Venice seemed maimed, and the hearts of thousands felt the depression until the tower was rebuilt and the city could once again hold up its beautiful head. A new tower was built by Piacentini (pee´-ah-chen-tee´-nee) during the years 1905 to 1911, and on completion it was consecrated with most impressive ceremonies.

The Doge’s Palace was originally founded about 800; but was destroyed by fire five times, and each time rebuilt on a grander scale. The older part of the present edifice was built in 1309; while the west wing, facing on the piazzetta, was built between 1424 and 1438 by the celebrated architects Buon, father and son.

In gazing at the Doge’s Palace the eye is first caught by the upper arcade. From there the sentences of the “Council of Ten” were pronounced—listened to by the assembled people in silence and in awe.

The columns of this arcade are most beautiful, and have been pointed to with pride for years. Ruskin describes the detail of the sculptured columns, and declares that they are the finest of their kind in Europe. The interior of the Doge’s Palace is wonderful. Tintoretto’s painting of “Paradise” is there, a marvel in size and in detail. The residence of the Doges and the apartment in which the authorities held their meetings are there, revealing still much of their ancient glory. The palace is virtually a museum, and it shows a great display of fine paintings, containing, among others, notably works of Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, (vay-ro-nay´-seh) and Palma Giovane (jo-vah´-neh). Days could be spent profitably wandering through these halls, studying the treasures of art and history to be found there.

BRIDGE OF SIGHS

In one room you will find yourself gazing from a window at a sight that will be familiar to you; though you may never have traveled before. You will exclaim when you see it, “The Bridge of Sighs!” A corridor nearby leads you to the bridge. You will take it, and find that it conducts you across from the Palace of the Doges to the prison, where are to be seen the gloomy walls as well as the torture chamber and the place of execution of former days. The Bridge of Sighs is best known in Venice, and the reason for it is chiefly sentimental. The Council of Ten of the Middle Ages is supposed to have sent doomed state prisoners across this bridge to their execution. We gather that these unfortunates saw the light of day for the last time when crossing the bridge. The thought is enough to seize upon the imagination of visitors, and many of them indulge themselves in sympathetic reveries when there. The interior of the Bridge of Sighs is gloomy enough to start creepy feelings; but there is no need of wasting too much sentiment on it. W. D. Howells calls it a “pathetic swindle.” As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that any great number of prisoners, or any prisoner of importance, ever crossed there.

Aside from any sentimental reason, however, the Bridge of Sighs is most interesting architecturally. It was built in 1600. It is attractive in design, and it makes a good picture, connecting with fine lines the two grim buildings on each side and bridging over the long, narrow canal beneath.

PICTURESQUE WATERWAYS

The canals of Venice are of varying width, and as they wind through the city they offer picturesque nooks and corners that have from the earliest times captivated the eye of the artist. F. Hopkinson Smith, a long-time devotee of Venice, has painted several hundred pictures, and at that has drawn but lightly on the possibilities of the subject.

Little canals in deep shadows, wider canals in sunlight, some straight, some curved, and at various points picturesquely bridged, supply effects in light and color that the eye greets with delight.

THE GRAND CANAL

It is trite and ineffective simply to say that the Grand Canal is the great artery and thoroughfare of Venice. It is so much more than that: it is a magnificent show course adorned with two hundred or more magnificent palaces dating from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and beautiful churches and interesting public buildings. A sightseeing trip in a gondola affords the visitor an object of architectural beauty and historic interest at every rod. The historic interest of some of these houses is double,—the interest attached to them by virtue of the original patrician owners, and a new interest acquired through the residence in them of notable men of later time. Drift slowly along this splendid waterway. Marble steps lead down from the noble residences to the water’s edge. Tall posts bearing the colors of the family serve as hitching posts for the boats. Your guide will tell you the stories, poetic and dramatic, of the families whose names are set down in the great roll of the nobility of Venice entitled “The Book of Gold.” Then you will be told of the later associations that enhance the interest of some of the palaces. That handsome mansion over there is where Desdemona lived. Nearby it is the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi, (ven-drah´-min cahl-ehr´-gee) in which Richard Wagner (vahg´-ner) died in 1883. That stately palace over there was for a time the home of Robert Browning; he died there in 1889, and there is a memorial tablet on the wall. Look at those three palaces close together. The one in the center was occupied by Lord Byron in 1818. Nearby is the Browning home, a Gothic building, in which W. D. Howells wrote his “Venetian Life.” In another palace George Sand had residence for a time. The great painter Titian (tish´-an) lived in one of these buildings.

Each structure has its interest. Each bend of the canal reveals new beauties. Across the beautiful waterway are three bridges—the name of one is familiar the world over.

THE BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO

For many years this was the only bridge across the Grand Canal, and it stands for much of the past glory of Venice. It is made of marble, and is over 150 feet long. It was built between the years 1588 and 1592, and is today, as it was in early times, a place of shops. Here Shylocks have bargained and Bassanios have met their friends these many years. More literally speaking, it was not the Bridge of the Rialto that Shylock refers to in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” but the district nearby.

It is difficult for anyone who has visited Venice to select single points for comment or description. The city appeals to him as a whole, and each object of beauty in it is a part of the wonderful whole. The essence of Venice is a dreamy, poetic charm,—a charm of light, color, and form, not of sound. Mrs. Oliphant writes:

“Venice has long borne in the imagination of the world a distinctive position, something of the character of a great enchantress, a magician of the seas.… She is all wonder, enchantment, the brightness and glory of a dream.”

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Studies in the History of Venice	H. R. F. Brown
Venice	H. R. F. Brown
Makers of Venice	Mrs. Oliphant
The Venetian Republic (two volumes)	W. C. Hazlitt
Venetian Life	W. D. Howells
St. Mark’s Rest	John Ruskin
The Stones of Venice	John Ruskin
Gondola Days	F. Hopkinson Smith
Literary Landmarks of Venice	Laurence Hutton
Pen Sketches	Finley Archer

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Subscribers desiring further information concerning this subject can obtain it by writing to

The Mentor Association

381 Fourth Avenue, New York City

The Church of St. Mark’s is unequaled in the whole world for richness of material and construction. It was originally the private chapel of the Doge or ruler of Venice. One reason for its being so richly adorned is that there was a law in Venice which required every merchant trading with the East to bring back some material for the decoration of the church. Thus it became the final resting place of the adornments from countless other buildings, both in the East and in Italy. The building has been compared to the treasure den of a band of pirates. It forms a museum of sculpture of the most varied kind, from the fourth century down to the latest Renaissance.

In 828 a little wooden church was built to receive the relics of the Apostle Mark. The Moslems had pulled down the church where he was buried in Alexandria; so his remains were brought to Venice, and Saint Mark became the patron saint of the city in place of Saint Theodore. In 976 this wooden church was burned, along with the ducal palace, in the insurrection against Doge Canadiano IV. The church was rebuilt on a larger scale by Pietro Orseolo and his successors. It was a very simple church, in the form of a Greek cross, built of brick in the Romanesque style. It was adorned with lines of colored brick, and brick set in patterns here and there. On it were five low cupolas. St. Mark’s grew in wealth as Venice became rich and important.

Doge Contarini remodeled the cathedral in 1063. Byzantine and Lombard workmen were employed, and the two styles of architecture were joined. The low brick cupolas were covered by high domes of wood roofed with metal. Parts of the walls were sheathed with slabs of alabaster. Incrusted marbles and mosaics were used further to decorate the outside. Then in the fifteenth century the Gothic pinnacles and other florid adornments of the exterior were added. The final result is the finest piece of many-colored architecture in Europe.

The Cathedral of St. Mark is in its present form a Greek cross, surmounted by a dome at each end and one in the center. The west front has five great porches opening upon the Piazza di San Marco. The church contains five hundred columns, mostly in oriental style, with richly ornamented capitals.

The top of the narthex (that part of the church nearest the main entrance) forms a wide gallery, in the center of which stand the four great bronze horses which are said to have belonged to some Greco-Roman triumphal quadriga, and to have been brought to Venice by Doge Enrico Dandolo after the fall of Constantinople in 1204. In 1797 Napoleon carried them to Paris; but they were restored by Francis of Austria in 1815.

The pala d’oro, or retable of the high altar, is one of the chief glories of St. Mark’s, and is one of the most magnificent specimens of goldsmiths’ and jewelers’ work in existence. The famous treasury of St. Mark’s contains a precious collection of church plate, jeweled book bindings, and other artistic treasures of the early Middle Ages.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

On July 14, 1902, the Campanile or bell tower of St. Mark’s Cathedral fell to earth with a crash. Earthquakes and a rotting foundation at length worked its ruin. But its reconstruction was begun in 1905, and the new tower was completed in 1911, nine years after the fall. The Campanile stands, as is usually the case in Italy, detached from the church. The first bell tower on this site was built in 900. The one that fell in 1992 was probably erected in 1329.

The Campanile signified to the Venetians the greatness of Venice. It was used as a watch tower before the year 1000. Then in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it became a bell tower also. Its bells rang out at the first hint of danger to warn the citizens of the republic. During later times these bells announced the taking of Constantinople by Dandolo to a waiting and expectant crowd; the victory of Lepanto, which made Venice master of the East; the establishment of her fights of sovereignty against Rome. They clanged when Martin Paliero, the traitor Doge, was beheaded. They tolled a dirge when the peace of Campoformio ended the Venetian republic forever. When the lagoons were united to the Italian mainland they rang out in announcement.

When the Campanile fell the Venetians were shocked and broken-hearted. There was some question as to whether it could be reconstructed; but the Italians were determined that it should be. In its fall the bell tower inclined toward the north and open piazza. If it had fallen in any other direction, either the Library of Sansovino, or the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Cathedral, or the royal palace would have been destroyed. In fact, some of the debris fell very near St. Mark’s; but did not disfigure it in the least.

The old foundations of the Campanile were used as a nucleus for the new. The shaft outside is a perfect model of the old bell tower; but by modifying the inside the weight has been reduced 20,000 tons.

The nucleus of the first Venice, before it was made the seat of government of the republic, is said to have been the little district about the great bridge over the Grand Canal, which still retains the name Rialto. But as soon as the island group of Rivo Alto became the capital of the Venetian republic a palace for the Doge was erected near the open mouth, on the site that its successor still occupies. This earliest palace was probably built about the year 800. It was burned down in 976 and again in 1106. The present magnificent building was a slow growth over three centuries.

As a whole, the Doge’s Palace as it now stands may be regarded externally as the characteristic typical example of fully developed Venetian Gothic. It is built of brick, and is lined or incrusted with small lozenge-like slabs of variously colored marble.

The interior of the Doge’s Palace is of much later date than is the exterior. On the walls of the chief council chambers are oil paintings by many Venetians, among them Tintoretto’s masterpiece “Bacchus and Ariadne,” and the huge picture of Paradise, the largest oil painting in the world.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

Everyone probably has heard of the Ponte de Sospiri or Bridge of Sighs. It is said that over this bridge walked political prisoners in the days of Venice’s greatness, and these men were never seen again. This bridge, however, is, as W. D. Howells says, “A pathetic swindle.” The Bridge of Sighs dates only from the sixteenth century, and since that time there has been only a single instance (Antonio Foscarini) of political imprisonment. The bridge led from the criminal courts in the palace to the criminal prisons on the other side of the Rio Canal.

The prisons really used for political offenders were the Pozzi, often wrongly described as being beneath the level of the canal. A thick wooden casing to the walls protected the inmates from damp, and the romantic accounts of the horrors of these prisons are probably all imaginary. The best known is that of Charles Dickens:

“I descended from the cheerful day into two ranges, one below another, of dismal, awful, horrible stone cells. They were quite dark. Each had a loophole in its massive wall, where, in the old time, every day a torch was placed, to light the prisoners within, for half an hour. The captives, by the glimmering of these brief rays, had cut and scratched inscriptions in the blackened vaults. I saw them; for their labor with the rusty nail’s point had outlived their agony and them through many generations. One cell I saw in which no man remained for more than twenty-four hours; being marked for dead before he entered it. Hard by, another, and a dismal one, whereto at midnight the confessor came,—a monk brown-robed and hooded,—ghastly in the day and free, bright air, but in the midnight of the murky prison Hope’s extinguisher and Murder’s herald. I had my foot upon the spot where at the same dread hour the shriven prisoner was strangled; and struck my hand upon the guilty door—low-browed and stealthy—through which the lumpish sack was carried out into a boat and rowed away, and drowned where it was death to cast a net.”

The Council of Ten which ruled Venice for many years had its place of assembly during the sixteenth century in one of the smaller apartments of the ducal palace on the second floor, a circular room with large windows, looking on the canal spanned by the Bridge of Sighs. This council had absolute power in administering justice and in governing the Venetian State.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

The Grand Canal, or Canalazzo, the street of the nobles in Venice, is one of the deeper channels in the lagoon. It is the original Rivo Alto, or deep stream, that created Venice, and up which the commerce of all countries was able to reach the city in the days of her splendor. Let us step into a gondola, and, telling our gondolier to keep to the left side till we reach the railway station, ascend the canal. That long, low building flanking the exact end of the canal, looking seaward, is the Dogana di Mare. It was erected in 1676 by Benoni. There on the summit are two Atlases bearing a gilded globe. A bronze Fortuna surmounts this, serving as a weather vane. And over there stands the Church of Santa Maria della Salute. During the plague of 1630 the republic vowed to give a church to Our Lady of Deliverance if the pestilence was removed, and the building was begun in 1631.

Passing along the canal we now come to a large, new palace, the Palazza Genovese, erected in 1898, an imitation of the earlier Gothic buildings.

After this we float by many houses and palaces until we finally reach the mouth of the Rio San Barnaba, where we see the huge and lofty Rezzonico, which was formerly the home of the poet Robert Browning. We float on and on by many more palaces and canals until we reach the Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto). We go under this strikingly picturesque bridge, past the fish market, and finally reach the Fondaco dei Turchi (Warehouse of the Turks). This is a large palace, and got its name in the seventeenth century, when it was let out to the Turkish merchants in Venice. It is representative of the Byzantine period.

Here we are at the railway station. Now we turn and go down the other bank. We pass the broad mouth of the Cannaregio, and come to the gigantic Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi. Wagner, the great composer, died here. At the entrance to the Rio della Maddalena the canal makes an angle, and after passing many buildings and the mouth of the Rio di Noale we come to the Ca’ d’Oro. This is a very ornate building. Its name, the House of Gold, came from the fact that it was once gilded. Then we go by many palaces, and come to the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, or Guild of the German Merchants in Venice. An earlier Teutonic guild hall existed here from the thirteenth century. Venice imported oriental goods and passed them on to Germany. All the quarter round the Rialto Bridge was the business district, the Wall Street of Venice.

We pass under the Ponte di Rialto again, and after a little while arrive at the Palazzo Loredan, the most beautiful house on the Grand Canal. It is a Byzantine-Romanesque Venetian palace, with a distinct oriental feeling. Finally we come to a dainty little house, which the gondolier tells us is Desdemona’s Palace. This palace is named the Contarini-Fasan.

The rest of the canal is mainly occupied by hotels. Beyond the Hotel de l’Europe we come to the gardens of the Royal Palace. Our trip ends at the Bridge of Sighs.

The palaces on the Grand Canal bear witness to the early peace and civilization of Venice. Her houses were built for beauty and pleasure, when the nations of the earth were still building castles for defense.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

The Ponte di Rialto, or Rialto Bridge, gets its name from the part of Venice it is in. This locality was the ancient city of Venice, and derives its name, Rialto, from Rivo Alto, as the land on the left of the canal was called. Even after the city expanded it continued to be the center of commerce and trade, the business heart of Venice. In this quarter were the Fabriche, or warehouses and custom houses, and many of the handsomest buildings, such as the Fondaco dei Turchi (Warehouse of the Turks) and the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (Warehouse of the Germans). It is this part of the city that Shakespeare means, when Shylock says:

The first Bridge of Rialto was built by an engineer named Barattieri in 1180. Up to this time a bridge of boats had been used. Barattieri’s bridge may be seen in the great picture of Carpaccio in the Accademia. In the sixteenth century there was a great competition for the honor of designing the new bridge. Fra Giocondo, Sansovino, Palladio, Vignola, and even Michelangelo himself contended. Antonio da Ponte obtained the coveted prize, and he began the present Ponte di Rialto in 1588 under Doge Pasquale Cicogna. At its completion it was very much criticized. Soon, however, this criticism was silenced, and on the engravings of the time it is called “Il Famoso Ponte” (The Famous Bridge). The span of the Rialto Bridge is 91 feet; its height is 24½ feet; its width, 72 feet.

The Annunciation on the bridge is by Girolamo Campagna. The angel is at one end of the span, and the Madonna is at the other end. The dove, flying toward the Madonna, forms the keystone of the bridge.

Close to the Rialto Bridge is the Church of St. Giacomo di Rialto. This church is said to date from the foundation of the town. It possesses no remains of its antiquity. The campanile of the Church of St. Giacomo is a fine example. Built almost altogether of brick, the long lines of its arcades give an effect of great height. The details are good. Their character is Gothic.

Facing the church a statue of a hunchback, “Il Gobbo di Rialto,” supports a pillar. From the back of this statue the laws of the republic were proclaimed, and this was the center of business life in Venice.

“So strange and so strong is the power of fiction over truth, in Venice, as everywhere else, that Portia and Emilia, Cassio, Antonio, and Iago appear to have been more real here than are the women and men in real life. We see, on the Rialto, Shylock first, and then its history and associations; and the Council Chamber of the Palace of the Doges is chiefly interesting as being the scene of Othello’s eloquent defense of himself.”

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

In Venice one takes a gondola as in America he takes a taxicab: with one difference,—after the gondola ride he still has some money left. A gondola is a long black skiff, with graceful lines and a swanlike prow sweeping up from the water. It is typically Venetian. It is admirably adapted to the work it has to do. There are only two points in all Venice where a gondola may not go even at low water,—one near the great theater of the Fenice, and the other near the Palazza Mocenigo at San Stae.

Two is the best number of passengers for a gondola. The rower is out of sight, behind. All is ideal. There is no noise, no dust, not even the feeling of motion, except the ripple of water past the bow.

The wood of which a gondola is built must be well seasoned and without knots. All gondolas turned out of one workshop are the same length. A new gondola is left unpainted for the first year. This is to prove its newness to any possible buyer. An unpainted gondola can easily be examined for knots. As soon as it is painted its value decreases.

The gondoliers become very attached to their own boats. They learn their peculiarities; for a gondola, like a person, has a character of its own.

Since the earliest days of Venice gondolas have been in use. Their present form has resulted from gradual development. The earliest authentic document relating to Venice mentions the light boats that were to the Venetians “as horses tied to the doors of their houses.” At first these boats were simple in construction; but in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the gondolas became very sumptuous. Finally, so luxurious did they become that they had to be regulated by law. Now they are longer and speedier, and are usually painted black.

There are about twenty ferries operating across the Grand Canal and the Giudecca. They resemble our cab service. The gondoliers also have guilds or unions. The police license the gondolas; but the real laws of the gondolier are those of his guild. Each guild has its own meeting place, where all questions of hours of work and choice of station are settled. If one member of the union becomes sick, he is cared for out of the public purse, and if he dies he is carried to the grave by his fellow members. These guilds are probably the last survivors of the old medieval crafts of Venice.

The skill of the average Venetian gondolier is marvelous. Rare indeed are collisions. These gondoliers are not the romantic heroes one may imagine them to be. They do not float in the moonlight singing serenades beneath their sweethearts’ windows. They are hardy fellows, thrifty, sober, and laborious, good husbands and fathers, matter-of-fact money makers.

One dollar and forty cents a day is the charge for a gondola and its gondolier in the season; at other times the price is forty cents less. A gondolier earns on an average sixty cents a day. This does not seem very much; but the gondoliers live fairly well, and even put money into the bank.

All the gondoliers of Venice are divided into two factions, the Nicolotti and the Castellani. The rivalry between these two is intense, and the question of supremacy was formerly settled by the knife. Nowadays, however, more peaceable but exciting races are the means. The Nicolotti wear a black sash and cap, and the Castellani wear red. There are four principal races a year. The first is rowed in May for a banner of red and gold; in August two pennons are rowed for, the white and gold, and the green; the blue banner is the prize in October.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 27, SERIAL No. 27

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MENTOR: VENICE, THE ISLAND CITY, VOL. 1, NUM. 27, SERIAL NO. 27 ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mentor: Venice, the Island City, Vol. 1, Num. 27, Serial No. 27

The Mentor, No. 27,
Venice, the Island City

VENICE, THE ISLAND CITY

HOW IT CAME TO BE

ST. MARK’S

PALACE AND CAMPANILE

BRIDGE OF SIGHS

PICTURESQUE WATERWAYS

THE GRAND CANAL

THE BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

VENICE
St. Mark’s Cathedral

VENICE
The Campanile and Doge’s Palace

VENICE
The Bridge of Sighs

VENICE
The Grand Canal

VENICE
The Rialto Bridge

VENICE
A Typical Venetian Canal

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mentor: Venice, the Island City, Vol. 1, Num. 27, Serial No. 27

The Mentor, No. 27, Venice, the Island City

VENICE, THE ISLAND CITY

HOW IT CAME TO BE

ST. MARK’S

PALACE AND CAMPANILE

BRIDGE OF SIGHS

PICTURESQUE WATERWAYS

THE GRAND CANAL

THE BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

VENICE St. Mark’s Cathedral

VENICE The Campanile and Doge’s Palace

VENICE The Bridge of Sighs

VENICE The Grand Canal

VENICE The Rialto Bridge

VENICE A Typical Venetian Canal

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

The Mentor, No. 27,
Venice, the Island City

VENICE
St. Mark’s Cathedral

VENICE
The Campanile and Doge’s Palace

VENICE
The Bridge of Sighs

VENICE
The Grand Canal

VENICE
The Rialto Bridge

VENICE
A Typical Venetian Canal