Venetian Republic Research Articles

Considerations Regarding the Status of the Morlachs from the Trogir`s Hinterland at the Middle of the 16th Century: Being Subjects of the Ottoman Empire and Land Tenants of the Venetian Republic

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 0.18cm;" align="JUSTIFY"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%;" align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL">W połowie XVI stulecia prowincja Trogir, podobnie jak cała Dalmacja, odczuwała znaczący spadek gospodarczy i demograficzny. Opuszczone ziemie i wsie regionu przygranicza, oddzielające posiadłości Imperium Ottomańskiego i Republiki Weneckiej stały się nowym domem dla półkoczowniczych pasterzy Morlaków. Niektórzy spośród wcześniejszych właścicieli opuszczonych posiadłości wyprowadzili się w czasie konfliktu z Ottomanami do miast na wybrzeżu i zdecydowali się wydzierżawić swoje ziemie Morlakom, którzy przybyli tu spoza granicy. Tak stało się w przypadku wsi </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL"><em>Radosich</em></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL">,</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL"><em> Triloque </em></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL">i </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL"><em>Suchi Dol</em></span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span lang="pl-PL">, wydzierżawionych rodzinom Morlaków, które – w świetle dokumentów państwowych – musiały wywiązać się z obowiązków nałożonych na dalmatyńskich właścicieli. Rodzaje powinności, które miały być świadczone przez Morlaków na rzecz weneckich panów, jak również ottomańskich władców, nie różniły się tak bardzo od zobowiązań wypełnianych przez inne społeczności wołoskie zidentyfikowane w środkowej części Półwyspu Bałkańskiego. Biorąc pod uwagę fakt, że zadaniem wenecko-ottomańskiego regionu pogranicznego było utrzymanie pokoju między nimi na terenie Dalmacji, wenecka decyzja o wydzierżawieniu ziem ottomańskim poddanym jawi się jako rozwiązanie korzystne dla wszystkich zaangażowanych stron: mieszkańców Dalmacji, władz ottomańskich na Bałkanach i półkoczowniczych Morlaków. </span></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 0.18cm;" align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="pl-PL"><br /></span></span></span></p>

Lički i sjevernodalmatinski prostor u kontekstu suvremene regionalizacije Hrvatske

Suvremeni županijski ustroj Republike Hrvatske kao i strateško autocestovno povezivanje hrvatskih regija, posebice srednjeg i južnog dijela jadranskog priobalja kroz lički prostor, određuju nove funkcionalne poveznice središnjeg dijela Jadranske Hrvatske. Nasuprot recidivima nekadašnjih podjela i razgraničenja hrvatskoga prostora od Osmanskog Carstva, Habsburške Monarhije i Mletačke Republike, kraj 20. i početak 21. stoljeća označili su obnovljene procese prometnog, gospodarskog i funkcionalnog povezivanja suvremenoga ličkog i sjevernodalmatinskog prostora, slične nekadašnjim procesima u antici i u razdobljima afirmacije prvotne hrvatske državne jezgre. Izgradnja autoceste unutar Jadransko jonskog koridora, usmjerenost na najbliže priobalno pročelje sa zračnom i pomorskim lukama, povezivanje turističkih kompleksa na potezu Novalja / Karlobag – Nin – Zadar – Biograd – Vodice – Šibenik – Primošten – Rogoznica s plitvičkim turističkim kompleksom, veći broj nacionalnih parkova i parkova prirode, potiču kroz neposredne i lako uočljive društvenogeografske procese novo, pojačano povezivanje. Tome pridonosi i razmjerno jednostavno i spontano prožimanje u sferi trgovine, prometa, bankarstva, uprave, školstva, sudstva, sigurnosti itd., što omogućuje, unatoč pojedinim, politički usmjeravanim ili naslijeđenim rješenjima te lokalnim prijeporima uvjetovanim razlikama i preklapanjima interesnih grupa, svrsishodno i učinkovito suvremeno životno povezivanje u gravitacijski jedinstveni i funkcionalan regionalni kompleks. Značenje postojećih i afirmiranih gravitacijskih središta, među kojima se Zadar kao staro razvojno žarište i čvorište na jadranskom hrvatskom pročelju ističe, od prvorazrednog je značenja, posebice u razdoblju demografske recesije ne samo manjih i ruralnih, nego i većih gradskih središta i ovoga regionalnog kompleksa, ali i čitave Hrvatske. Znanstveno i multidisciplinarno prepoznavanje suvremenih procesa razvitka i prostornih odrednica kod odabira suvremenoga regionalnog ustroja Republike Hrvatske povezano je i sa suvremenim upravnoteritorijalnim, dakle naslijeđenim i tradicionalnim županijskim ustrojem. Jednako je poželjno uskladiti ih i s NUTS regionalizacijom (posebice NUTS-3 razine) Europske unije, što je zahtjevan, ali i neodgodiv zadatak radi ravnomjerne raspodjele egzistencijalnih dobara i uravnoteženog, decentraliziranog i što kvalitetnijeg razvitka ličkog i sjevernodalmatinskog prostora, kao i Hrvatske u cjelini, u budućnosti.

Priručnik za Dalmaciju: De Trauxov opis iz 1805.

U radu je riječ o opisu Dalmacije što ga je 1805. sastavio Maximilian De Traux, časnik u austrijskoj službi. Osim Dalmaciji, znatan prostor posvetio je i „Albaniji“ (bivšoj mletačkoj pokrajini Albania Veneta), tj. području oko Boke kotorske. Glavni autorov interes usmjeren je prema utvrdama u tim novostečenim austrijskim područjima te mogućnostima njihove zaštite. Usto De Traux daje svoja zapažanja o tamošnjem stanovništvu, tradicijama, načinima privređivanja i drugome. Tekstualno izlaganje praćeno je s 29 slikovnih priloga (tlocrti utvrda odnosno gradova, karte Kvarnera, Dalmacije i „Albanije“ te prikazi Zadra), čiji je odabir zanimljiv i odražava autorov strateški pogled na tadašnju političku situaciju. De Trauxovo djelo vrlo je malena formata, uslijed čega su tlocrti morali biti ograničeni u broju detalja; unatoč tomu i možda baš zato ti su prikazi neobično uspjeli, postigavši znatnu jasnoću i sugestivnost.

A struggle for passes towards the Adriatic – Karst from the 12th to the 15th centuries

The Karst in late Middle Ages encompassed a vast area stretching from karst fields in Inner Carniola to coastaltowns and their immediate hinterland. It was a highly transitional area with mountain passes and important traderoutes affording it a major strategic and economic relevance. For centuries, all major regional powers from Carniola,Carinthia and Friuli struggled to establish their supremacy over this area and its major seigniories of Lož (Laas),Postojna (Adelsberg) and Vipava (Wippach): the Spanheims of Carinthia, the Counts of Bogen and Andechs fromBavaria in the 12th and 13th centuries; the Counts of Gorizia and the Aquileian Patriarch in the 13th and 14th centuries;the Habsburgs, the Counts of Cilli and the Counts of Ortenburg in the 14th and 15th centuries, and finallythe Habsburgs and the Venetian Republic. Having acquired Trieste in 1382, the Austrian ruling house secured itselfan outlet to the sea, but also found itself in a latent confrontation with Venice. In the war of 1508–1516, EmperorMaximilian ultimately asserted his power over the hinterland of the Adriatic ports and thus strengthened the role ofthe Habsburg Trieste. The military and political developments in the Karst area were extremely dynamic and have nocomparison in the broader Slovenian area.

Italian Venice: a history

In this elegant book Richard Bosworth explores Venice--not the glorious Venice of the Venetian Republic, but from the fall of the Republic in 1797 and the Risorgimento up through the present day. Bosworth looks at the glamour and squalor of the belle epoque and the dark underbelly of modernization, the two world wars, and the far-reaching oppressions of the fascist regime, through to the Disneylandification of Venice and the tourist boom, the worldwide attention of the biennale and film festival, and current threats of subsidence and flooding posed by global warming. He draws out major themes--the increasingly anachronistic but deeply embedded Catholic Church, the two faces of modernization, consumerism versus culture. Bosworth interrogates not just Venice's history but its meanings, and how the city's past has been co-opted to suit present and sometimes ulterior aims. Venice, he shows, is a city where its histories as well as its waters ripple on the surface.

Geomorphological evolution of the plain between the Livenza and Piave Rivers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries inferred by historical maps analysis (Mainland of Venice, Northeastern Italy)

The ancient hydrographical network and geomorphological framework of the fluvial and coastal plain encompassed between the Livenza and Piave Rivers in the mainland of Venice (Northeastern Italy) were reconstructed, based on historical maps, georeferenced, and overlaid on available geomorphological maps and aerial photographs. A selection of 59 maps was accurately analyzed (32 from the sixteenth century, 31 from the seventeenth century, and 6 from the eighteenth century). They were selected by author, commitment, date, and scale, from among more than 1000 maps edited by Savi e Esecutori alle Acque (the ‘hydrographical’ service during the Republic of Venice) in the 16th and seventeenth century. The most representatives (7 from the sixteenth century and 6 from the seventeenth century) were georeferenced and redrawn. Finally, four 1:50.000 maps were created, picturing the ancient morphology and hydrographical network in the years 1550, 1600, 1650, and 1700, covering an area of about 130 square kilometers. Geographical information was compared with historical documents and geological, geomorphological, and geochronological data. Further comparison of geodetic maps from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century produced new maps with important information on the paleogeographical and environmental framework across two centuries, and particularly on the artificial diversion projects performed by the Venetian Republic, their effectiveness, and the geomorphological changes both related to human intervention and recent climatic changes.

Families, medical secrets and public health in early modern Venice

This article highlights women's contribution to public health in early modern Venice using the case study of Marieta Colochi and her family's medical secret. This medical cure operated as a dowry, an important object within female inheritance and was also sold to the Venetian Republic for a significant sum of money because of its apparent success in treating the plague. The city's Health Office employed family members to administer the treatment, including Marieta. Surviving texts describe her as a salaried doctor and the Health Office archive records the use of her medical services in Venice and across the territorial state. Marieta's attempt at election as an independent Health Office doctor failed but she continued to be employed alongside male members of her family. Her history suggests that the nature of record‐keeping for early modern public health, with its emphasis on office‐holding, may have obscured the contributions made by women. The family unit emerges as significant in a private and public sense: the Health Office authorities dealt with individual, skilled medical women by employing them within family relationships and provided opportunities for female employment in healthcare within institutions that were modelled on the family in a symbolic way. Viewing women's work through the lens of the family allows historians to acknowledge the gender hierarchies of early modern society whilst illuminating the valuable contributions which could be made by women to the healthcare of this period.

'RIBOLLA GIALLA' FROM NORTH EASTERN ITALY, 'REBULA' FROM NORTHERN BALKANS AND 'ROBOLA' FROM IONIAN ISLANDS; DO THEY BELONG TO THE SAME POPULATION VARIETY OR ARE THEY GENETICALLY DIFFERENT?

?Ribolla Gialla? is an extremely old grape cultivated in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the provinces of Gorizia and Udine. Once part of the Venetian Republic, Friuli-Venezia Giulia has been for long time an important stop along the Mediterranean spice route from the Byzantine Empire to the trading centre of Venice. During the Middle Ages, travellers passing through this area are supposed to have brought grapevines from the Balkans and Anatolia. After the splendours and reputa¬tion gained by ?Ribolla? wines in the past centuries, the beginning of the 1900s marked a difficult period for wine production, with a decrease in reputation. In the 1960s the interest in the cultivation of (Vitis vinifera L.) ?Ribolla? decreased, in the Italian wine¬growing regions, leaving place for the cultivation of ?Tocai Friulano?, ?Pinot bianco? and ?-grigio?, ?Sauvignon?, ?Traminer? and ?Riesling?. Despite the historical documents reporting the longstanding tradition of ?Ribolla? cultivation and winemaking in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the origin of this cultivar is still questionable. The neighbour winegrowing regions, especially Primorska in Slovenia, have under cultivation a white cultivar called ?Rebula?, and in Greece, on the Ionic islands of Kefalonia a white cultivar named ?Robola? is produced. The aim of this work was to study the genetic structure of these 3 groups of grapevine cultivars and verify the existence of genetic relationships linking these accessions, which share the same name. For this purpose 21 SSR loci were tested to fingerprint 22 ?Ribolla?-?Rebula?-?Robola? accessions uniformly distributed in the 4 areas of cultivation. Data obtained proved the existence of some synonyms and some mistakes. The sharing of many alleles in the 21 SSR analysed may suggest some possible relationships among ?Ribolla?-?Rebula? and ?Robola? accessions.

Art and music in Venice: from the Renaissance to the Baroque

Artistic and musical creativity thrived in the Venetian Republic between the early 16th century and the close of the 18th century. The city-state was known for its superb operas and splendid balls, and the acoustics of the architecture led to complex polyphony in musical composition. Accordingly, notable composers, including Antonio Vivaldi and Adrian Willaert, developed styles that were distinct from those of other Italian cultures. The Venetian music scene, in turn, influenced visual artists, inspiring paintings by artists such as Jacopo Bassano, Canaletto, Francesco Guardi, Pietro Longhi, Bernardo Strozzi, Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo, Tintoretto, and Titian. Together, art and music served larger aims, whether social, ceremonial, or even political. Lavishly illustrated, Art and Music in Venice brings Venice's golden age to life through stunning images of paintings, drawings, prints, manuscripts, textbooks, illuminated choir books, musical scores and instruments, and period costumes. New scholarship into these objects by a team of distinguished experts gives a fresh perspective on the cultural life and creative output of the era.

Fate of the Rector’s Palace in Šibenik during the Decline of the Venetian Republic

Fate of the Rector’s Palace in Šibenik during the Decline of the Venetian Republic

A Roman Poet in the Venetian Republic: The Reception of Horace in Sixteenth-Century Bergamo

A Roman Poet in the Venetian Republic: The Reception of Horace in Sixteenth-Century Bergamo

Andreas Vesalius: His Science, Teaching, and Exceptional Books

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) is one of the greatest anatomists of all time. His lasting recognition is due to two major achievements: being instrumental in making anatomy an empirical science and presenting the results of his work in an extraordinarily innovative way. The latter is also his connection with the arts. Vesalius was born in Brussels. He started his education in Leuven, attended the University of Paris, and completed his studies at the University of Padua (1, 2). From 1405 Padua was in the territory of the Venetian Republic, by far the strongest of the Renaissance city-states (3). Venice was also a major center of the arts, with artists such as Jacopo, Gentile, and Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian (1488/90–1576), who was then regarded as the greatest painter in Europe. In their art, the Venetians emphasized the use of color, in contrast to line, which was dominant in Florentine painting. Medical knowledge at that time was based on texts rather than empirical observations. The …

Genetic investigation of grapevine varieties ‘Ribolla Gialla’ (Italy), ‘Rebula’ (Slovenia) and ‘Robola’ (Ionian Islands)

‘Ribolla Gialla’ is a very old grape variety cultivated today in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in north-eastern Italy. The historical reputation of this variety in central Eastern Europe was strongly related to the vast distribution of the Venetian Republic markets. In the 1960s, the interest of Italian winegrowers in ‘Ribolla Gialla’ decreased and it was replaced by international varieties. Despite historical documents reporting the longstanding tradition of ‘Ribolla Gialla’ cultivation and winemaking in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the origin of this variety is still questionable. The aims of this work were to study the genetic identity of ‘Ribolla Gialla’ and to investigate the possible genetic relationships with ‘Rebula’ and ‘Robola’ that have been traditionally cultivated in other European Countries (Goriška brda in Slovenia and Kefalonia Island in Greece). For this purpose, 35 SSR loci were analyzed to fingerprint 19 accessions with denominations or morphologies that are similar to ‘Ribolla Gialla’. The Italian ‘Ribolla Gialla’ accessions (#5) and the Slovenian ‘Rebula’ accessions (#2) revealed identical genotypes in all 35 analyzed SSR markers, and can therefore be confirmed as synonyms. The group of Greek ‘Robola’ accessions resulted as the most heterogeneous, showing several distinct allelic profiles. By phylogenetic analysis, two ‘Robola’ accessions were clustered with ‘Ribolla Gialla’ (or ‘Rebula’), and parentage analysis strongly suggested a full-siblings relationship between ‘Ribolla Gialla’ and ‘Robola’.

The City-State in Europe, 1000–1600: Hinterland, Territory, Region by Tom Scott (review)

Reviewed by: The City-State in Europe, 1000–1600: Hinterland, Territory, Region by Tom Scott Carolyn James Scott, Tom, The City-State in Europe, 1000–1600: Hinterland, Territory, Region, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012; hardback; pp. 400; R.R.P. £35.00; ISBN 9780199274604. In this well written and thoughtful study, Tom Scott interrogates the conventional assumption that the late medieval and early modern city-states of Europe were so diverse that a comparative analysis from a European-wide perspective cannot offer any meaningful insights into their origins and development. Scott acknowledges that no single template can be imposed on the range of southern and northern examples since the city-states of Italy followed a very different evolutionary path to their northern European counterparts. Indeed he spends a good part of his book articulating the contrasts. Italian city-states emerged in ancient urban centres that were usually also the seat of bishoprics and grew wealthy on the proceeds of long-distance trade. In the north, they arose considerably later, were not coterminous with ecclesiastical boundaries, and their entrepreneurs engaged mostly in local, rather than international, trade. These differences are thoroughly examined by Scott in numerous case studies and are traced chronologically over six centuries. Chapters 1 to 3 trace the rise of the communes and the struggle for [End Page 274] autonomy by urban elites, while Chapters 4 and 5 analyse the full flowering of the European city-state during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Scott shows that city-states all over Europe inexorably expanded their control over the surrounding countryside in response to the need to secure the food supply for large urban populations. From the basic need for provisions, wider political ambitions flowed, as cities sought to secure markets and to organize efficient production and distribution of essential resources. It is the interaction of both Italian and northern European city-states with their rural hinterlands, territories, and regions that Scott regards as the way forward in our attempt to understand the complex, and seemingly unpredictable, process of state formation in the early modern period. The traditional historiographical approach privileged the study of Italian city-states on the grounds that they lasted much longer, established sophisticated and efficient administrative systems to a greater extent, and were more politically assertive than those in the north, which have been dismissed as imperfectly realized, or even stunted, polities. The ideological concern in much of this scholarship has been to distinguish the progressive features of communal or republican Italian city-states from monarchical or dynastic ones. However, no convincing link has been made between forms of political organization and the emergence of particular kinds of city-state. As Scott points out, there was little difference between the territorial policies pursued by civic regimes and dynastic principalities. The republic of Florence and the principality of Milan are shown, for example, to have been similarly aggressive in their determination to dominate their hinterlands, while the Venetian republic was lax, or even benignly neglectful, towards its subject territory in the terraferma. If the unitary model of the Italian city-state is undermined, and its status as prefiguring modern notions of sovereignty is no longer assumed, it makes sense to look anew at the rise of this polity from a territorial and regional perspective. Scott’s aim is to investigate why, and how, a range of city-states across Europe came to dominate the contado beyond their city walls and what were the consequences of this expansion. He identifies four types of European city-state. Some acquired no territory but dominated the areas in their vicinity through commercial contracts that imposed mechanisms of quality control on rural outworkers. Others used jurisdictional instruments to reinforce urban economic clout. Coastal cities that had no easy access to hinterlands acquired territories in distant places. Genoa, for example, was cut off from inland areas by rugged terrain and relied on its control over Sardinia and Corsica to provide sustenance for its population. The fourth group of city-states dominated their contado through the acquisition of land along axial trade routes. Thus urban centres could evolve into city-states through [End Page 275] legal instruments and economic domination, rather than land ownership...

The market for paintings in the Venetian Republic from Renaissance to Rococò

We study the art market in the Venetian Republic from 1550 to 1750 analyzing the determinants of the prices (adjusted for the cost of living measured by the price of wheat) of figurative paintings. Reputation of the painters, size of the paintings and other quantifiable factors affect prices as expected. Other relevant factors include the placement of the paintings (on altars, ceilings or walls), whose impact reflects differences in demand elasticities. We find evidence of the law of one price confirming price equalization between high and low demand geographical destinations and between different subjects. Finally, in a Schumpeterian perspective, we relate the temporal trend of the price of a representative painting with waves of artistic innovations, whose peacks were in the 1500s and in the 1700s with a dark Baroque age in the intermediate century.

The jeunes de langues in the eighteenth century

This article explores the history in Europe of the training of interpreters specialized in diplomacy, which began in the Renaissance Venetian Republic, when this European power started to train the so-called giovani di lingua in its embassy in Constantinople. The Venetian model was imitated and developed by other European powers, especially by France and the Austrian monarchy, trying to strengthen their relations with the Ottoman Empire by training their own jeunes de langues and Sprachknaben, respectively. In Spain the equivalent figure, the joven de lenguas, emerged later, in the last third of the 18th century, and there is evidence of several proposals to create a Spanish school to train these youngsters. The profile of the selected jóvenes who would serve at the Spanish embassies and consulates in foreign regions is also analyzed. Finally, the Spanish example is compared with the pioneering European models, especially with the Venetian, the French and the Austrian ones.

More Catholic than Rome: Art and Lay Spirituality at Venice’s Scuola di S. Fantin, 1562-1605

Author(s): Bailey, Meryl Faith | Advisor(s): Partridge, Loren | Abstract: This dissertation explores the art patronage of a small group of devout Venetian laymen across five decades up to the papal Interdict of Venice in 1606-1607. It takes a new approach to, and offers new perspectives on, this crucial but largely neglected moment in the city's cultural history. Authorized by the state to provide spiritual comfort and assistance to prisoners condemned to death, the Scuola di S. Fantin played a pivotal role in both the city's religious life and its criminal justice system. Public execution was a highly choreographed rite with profound political and theological meaning. By repositioning the brutal rite of punishment within the context of Christian forgiveness, charity, and salvation, the Scuola sought to turn this spectacle of violence into an opportunity for spiritual transformation for its members, the condemned, and the broader community. The confraternity's meeting house was built and decorated between 1562 and 1605, a period marked by increasing antagonism between the Venetian Republic and the Papacy, and by the ongoing struggle between Catholic orthodoxy and Protestant theology. This study of the building and its decoration employs the methodologies of art history, ritual studies, anthropology, and cultural history to offer a multi-faceted case study on Venetian art, ritual, and devotion. The themes and issues analyzed include: the interplay between local visual traditions, lay devotional practices, and the new aesthetic and doctrinal demands of the Catholic Reformation; the artistic expression of Catholic orthodoxy in a city at odds with the Roman Church; the defense of contested religious doctrines (especially Purgatory and Indulgences) in treatises and in the visual arts; and the use of images to ease the tension between state-sanctioned violence and the moral imperatives of Christianity. Ultimately, this dissertation shows how the members of one confraternity used art and ritual to present themselves and their city as embodiments of orthodox Catholicism, civic piety, and patriotism in a period fraught with religious and political conflict.

Geographical Names on Mercator’s Maps of Croatia

Mercator depicted Croatia on several general maps. In accordance with the level of geographical knowledge, map scales and technical possibilities of the time, Mercator provided a relatively detailed depiction of basic geographical features on these maps. His interest in mapping Croatia was probably motivated by the fact that the Venetian Republic, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire had fought over this area in the sixteenth century, contributing to the fragmentation of the medieval Croatian State, while at the same time facilitating economic, religious, linguistic, artistic and scientific communication between Central, South East and Mediterranean Europe. Mercator paid special attention to toponyms that enabled geographical objects to be identified and the decoding of cartographic contents. Research into Mercator’s maps has shown that geographical names, among other things, clearly indicate the sources of spatial data that he used. Additionally, geographical names on Mercator’s maps are significant indicators of the linguistic and cultural contacts that were particularly prominent in border areas, for example, along the eastern Adriatic coast, or the courses of the Danube, Sava and Drava.

The Market for Paintings in the Venetian Republic From Renaissance to Rococò

We study the art market in the Venetian Republic from 1550 to 1750 analyzing the determinants of the prices (adjusted for the cost of living measured by the cost of wheat) of figurative paintings. Reputation of the painters, size of the paintings and other quantifiable factors affect prices as expected. Other relevant factors include the placement of the paintings (on the altar, on the ceiling or on the walls), whose impact reflects differences in demand elasticities. We find evidence of the law of one price confirming price equalization between high and low demand destinations and between different subjects. Finally we relate the temporal trend of the price of a representative painting with waves of artistic innovations, whose peaks were in the Mannerist and Rococo periods with a dark Baroque age in the intermediate period.

Hvarski Arsenal u kontekstu ostalih mletačkih arsenala

Historically speaking, the Arsenal at Hvar formed a part of the infrastructure set up by the Venetian Republic in order to secure the navigation between Venice and the eastern Mediterranean. Controlling the cities which had favourable ports along this route and which could provide protection and supplies to vessels was of key importance. The port of Hvar was the most important port among the Adriatic islands because its location was almost unavoidable when navigating this sea. It was spacious and had the necessary depth, and it was also protected from wind; until the mid-eighteenth century it served as the main port of the Venetian Adriatic fleet. The decision to build an arsenal was made in the late thirteenth century and the actual building must have been completed several decades later. More numerous pieces of information can be gathered only from the sixteenth century when a new building seems to have been constructed but remained without a roof for a long time. The Arsenal burnt down during the Turkish attack in 1571 and was renovated in 1611.The central arsenal of the Venetian Republic was built on an enormous site in Venice and consisted of tens of halls. Large numbers of vessels were constructed there during individual campaigns on the eves of wars. Apart from the Arsenal at Venice, other significantly large armouries included those located on Crete (Candia/Heraklion, Chania) which were technologically advanced and also consisted of several halls. These armouries also built galleys - the most important and the fastest of Venetian vessels. Galleys had the advantage of being easily transformed from merchant vessels to war ships and vice versa, and Venetian maritime success was based on the good organization of their routes. Other armouries carried out only modest ship-building activities and their main role was to provide supplies and service the vessels. The Arsenal at Hvar belonged to this group of minor supply armouries. A particular feature of the Arsenal at Hvar is its prominent position: it is situated well into the port area, as was customary, but, at the same time, it is also located on the main town square. For this reason, it has a certain ‘communal’ value which seems to have been confirmed by the fact that its façade was provided with a more monumental articulation than was usually necessary for Venetian arsenal buildings. It features string courses, and the decorated arch cornice as well as the lions of St Mark. Another unusual feature is the addition of the first floor which, during the final remodelling in the early seventeenth century, housed the local theatre. This created an idiosyncratic symbiosis between the military and the civic, public function which confirmed the communal significance of this building.