John Julius Norwich
Venice:
Unique Empire of Trade, Art, and Architecture
March 11, 1999
Lord John Julius Norwich treated a capacity audience of SAR members
and guests to a joyous encounter with his life-long love affair with Venice. Lord Norwich
offered a highly personalized narrative, telling the story of this astonishing
civilization from its unlikely beginnings in the fifth century to the great artistic
contributions of the eighteenth century. Touching on geography, politics, architecture,
religion, and art, Lord Norwich skillfully guided his audience through the complex history
of Venice, highlighted by his own witty asides as well as slides of breathtaking buildings
and art.
Comparing an early depiction of a Venetian canal scene in the
fifteenth century to a contemporary photograph of the same area, Lord Norwich emphasized
how little has changed throughout the centuries, a fact he attributed in part to the
absence of automobiles. The "astounding achievement" of creating such a
sophisticated culture in the brackish water of the Venetian lagoon was made possible, Lord
Norwich suggested, by the level of complete security felt by the Venetians, who fled
repeatedly to the inhospitable region to escape the Barbarian raiders in the fifth
century. Finally, he said, they decided "to hell with it!" and made the
commitment to stay in the shallow waters of the lagoon rather than return to Italy proper
and experience the next inevitable invasion.
The Venetians quickly developed a prosperous society based on
trade and commerce. Commerce and trade were valued above all else and considered the
"noblest callings" a person could have, unlike the rest of Italy, where the
merchant princes of Venice were regarded with great disdain, despite their great material
success. In 1828, two Venetians decided to improve the status of their homeland by
stealing the body of St. Mark from Alexandria. By installing the precious relic in a
private chapel rather than the Catholic Church, they avoided its recall to the Vatican by
the Pope.
With the arrival of St. Mark, the prestige of Venice was much
improved. Lord Norwich showed several versions of the Winged Lion, a symbol of St. Mark,
that became synonymous with the spirit of Venice and now appears throughout the city.
Always, Lord Norwich pointed out, the lion is accompanied by a book carrying the words of
God allegedly heard by St. Mark: "Peace be with you, my evangelist."
Lord Norwich showed examples of Byzantine architecture, with
its "tall horseshoe arches forming great arcades," as well as Gothic-style
buildings such as the Doges' Palace which looks like a "Victorian tablecloth with a
lace filigree at the bottom," and is remarkably indefensible. Governmental buildings
in other cultures are virtual fortresses, which are almost always heavily defended.
Norwich offered that the difficulties of navigating the lagoon afforded the Venetians
"extraordinary security". This permitted the delicate architectural beauty and
airy lower arcades of the Doges' Palace. During the Renaissance period, the Venetians
added mosaic to this classic style of architecture decoration. Lord Norwich closed the
lively hour with a series of slides showing the great Venetian painters, from Jacobello
and Giovanni to Giorgione, Titian, and Tintoretto.
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