After a quick recap of Venice’s ups and downs in the 1020s and early 1030s, we watch the city continue to navigate a delicate diplomatic route between her powerful neighbours. With peace and stability returning to the city, renewed trading wealth brings an outburst of church building, including the jewel in the crown, the Basilica of San Marco, which begins to take its final shape under Doxe Domenico Contarini starting in 1061. There may be ominous signs of trouble ahead in the wider world, but for now the city is making money while the sun shines.
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All music is used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
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35:57
Casanova Part 4b. Fate Finds a Different Way
18-year-old Casanova has a job offer as an assistant Bishop (Assistant to the Bishop, that is). But before he can take his first step on this road to the fame, fortune and social prestige that surely await him in a glittering church career, he is desperate to take revenge on his enemy, Antonio Razzetta. Once that is accomplished, he faces a lengthy journey to the south of Italy, which will involve poor decision-making, a couple of bouts of venereal disease, some very dubious company, and a steep learning curve in how to navigate his way through a world of tricksters and charlatans. But at the end of it all, his new life awaits him. Find out how he copes as we conclude this two-parter on his transition from teenager to adult.
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All music used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org.
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34:41
Casanova Part 4a. Fate Will Find a Way
At the age of 17, Casanova suddenly lost his grandmother, his house, and his chief patron / stand-in father figure. Feeling rootless, he started to lash out and ended up being sent to a seminary in an attempt to keep him on the straight and narrow. This was a predictably terrible idea. But help was on the way, in the unlikely shape of a Bishop who would soon take Casanova away and set him on the road to a brilliant career in the Church. Young Giacomo even dreamt of becoming Pope one day. Don't hold your breath on that one, though. Join us as we follow the ups and downs of one of the 18th century's great adventurers.
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All music used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org.
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21:42
021. Campo San Barnaba
A slighty different episode this week, as we do an outside broadcast from Venice. We look at the sights and sounds of Campo San Barnaba, in Dorsoduro. Like almost anywhere in Venice, you don't have to look very far beneath the surface to discover a rich tapestry of historical stories.
To find Campo San Barnaba when you're in Venice, take the Vaporetto No. 1 to Ca Rezzonico, then walk one minute down the Calle del Traghetto.
To see whereabouts it is relative to other sights, try this link on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8obEPfETxZzuTz2k6
For more information, look for History of Venice Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
All music used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
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19:45
Art03. The Crocodile Slayer
St Theodore, or Tòdaro, stands on a crocodile-dragon at the top of one of the two huge columns on the picture-postcard San Marco waterfront. He’s usually described as the original patron saint of Venice, before the arrival of St Mark. But what’s the story behind the man himself, his very unusual statue, and his connection with a city that he never went anywhere near in life? This week we investigate the crocodile-slaying saint.
https://histvenicepod.podbean.com/
All music used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org
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