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Venice

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Revision as of 01:49, 4 September 2011 by imported>Smoke3723 (Added database transcript)
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Venice (Italian: Venezia) was an island city in northern Italy and capital of the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia. Famous for its expansive canal system, Venice was one of the largest and wealthiest settlements in Italy during the Renaissance. It was made up of five main districts: San Polo, San Marco, Dorsoduro, Cannaregio and Castello.

History

During the 15th Century, Venice was capital of the Most Serene Republic of Venice and its largest city. Historically founded by refugees from the Hunnic and Germanic invasion of Padua, Aquileia, and Altino, Venice developed to become a major trade and naval power in southern Europe, and by the year 1499 was engaged in sporadic conflict with the Ottoman Empire.[1]

Even during the 13th Century Venice had a notable Assassin presence, the area surrounding Venice was home to an Assassin and his son – Domenico. Both enjoyed the patronage of the famed explorer Marco Polo, an ally of the Assassins.[2] Their presence continued on into the 15th Century, occupying positions of command amongst the thieves, mercenaries and courtesans of the city.[1]

File:250px-Palazzo Ducale.jpg
The Palazzo Ducale

By the Renaissance Era, Venice was one of the richest cities in the world. It consisted of five districts. The San Polo district was the center of commerce, containing many markets, and was also the location of the Venetian Thieves' Guild. The San Marco district was the administrative center of the city, containing government buildings such as the Palazzo Ducale, the residence of the Doge. The Dorsoduro district attracted many artists, and was where many festivals in Venice, such as Carnevale, took place. The Castello district was largely centered around the Venetian military, and was where its powerful navy was based and maintained. The Cannaregio district was a run-down area that eventually became Venice's ghetto, the area to which Jews were relegated, forbidden to go elsewhere in the city.

Following the Templar failure to capture Florence during the Pazzi conspiracy, Rodrigo Borgia and his allies – the Barbarigo family – step up their plans to take control of the city of Venice. Influencing powerful members of Venetian government, such as Carlo Grimaldi. The Templars assassinated the Doge Giovanni Mocenigo and placed one of their own on the throne; Marco Barbarigo. By this time however, the Florentine Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze had arrived in Venice and begun to counter the Templar plot.[1]

Following the assassination of Marco Barbarigo and the ascension of his brother Agostino, an ally to the Assassins, Ezio Auditore chased down the last remaining Barbarigos Silvio, cousin to Agostino, and his man servant Dante Moro to L'Arsenale di Venezia and liberated the city's military district. It was here that the Assassin learned that the Templar plot to acquire Venice had merely been a distraction for the Assassins', so that the Templars might safely dispatch their vessel to Cyprus.[1] Between 1502 and 1503 Francesco Vecellio and his team of Assassins traveled to Venice to poison the now corrupt and Borgia-influenced Agostino Barbarigo. Before they left he made sure that Agostino's successor was on the Assassins' side.

Landmarks

File:180px-Basilica di San Marco.jpg
The Basilica di San Marco
The Santa Maria del Frari

The following list comprises all the Venetian landmarks of significance:

Carnevale

Annually Venice hosted the famed Carnevale in the southern part of the city. Traditionally the citizens of Venice would don masks, allowing them to indulge in a variety of entertainments wilder than would normally be socially acceptable. Typically Carnevale was celebrated with fireworks, carnival performers and a series of games, the winner being awarded a Golden Mask that granted entrance to the Doge's personal party.

Assassination Targets

Database Entry

Likely established sometime around the late 7th Century, Venice's lagoon-locked location was the result of Byzantine settlers attempting to hide from Lombard invaders. By the Middle Ages, the city had grown into a great naval power. Its strategic position at the top of the Adriatic meant that ships taking goods inland had to go through Venice, filling its coffers with money and commerce.

Entering the late Middle Ages, Venice exercised influence over both its neighbouring states and the Church. When the Fourth Crusade rolled around in 1202, the crusaders required transport on Venice's ships, which the Venetian Doge, Enrico Dandolo, agreed on the condition that the crusaders retake the Dalmatian city of Zadar and then capture Constantinople.

When Constantinople fell, the city was sacked by the Venetian fleet, which stole, among other things, four bronze horses as ornaments for the Basilica San Marco. Now, that's what I call a faith-based initiative.

As Venice's wealth grew, so did its fleet. Through sea battles she gained Byzantine territory, Hungarian territory and destroyed the Genoese fleet. Venice's fortunes were so entwined with the sea that every year the Doge would through a ring into the lagoon while saying in Latin: "We wed thee, sea, in the sign of the true and everlasting Lord". Despite much eye-raising about the godliness of sea-human relations, the Pope sanctioned the marriage.

By the end of the 15th Century, Venice was quite possibly the wealthiest city in the world and the second-largest city in Europe after Paris, but the rest of Europe had had enough. France, Spain, Austria and Hungary joined together in the League of Cambrai, partnering with Pope Julius II to crush Venice.

But Venice was able to weather the storm, ultimately keeping her territories even after several disastrous defeats. But she would never expand again. Turkey attacked in the 18th Century, and Venice began a long decline which ultimately ended in 1797, when Austria took control of the Republic.[1]

Trivia

  • Even after the events of the Carnevale, the citizens will continue to celebrate it for the remainder of the game, albeit without fireworks, in the district of Dorsoduro.
  • The enemies in Venice are far more skilled than the enemies in Florence, and are better equipped.
  • Venice is the only city where you can't use horses.
  • On the border of San Polo and San Marco there are two painters who are looking out across the river yet they are painting a portrait of a person.
  • The southern-most island of Venice, La Guidecca, which resides on a separate island, is inaccessible to players during the course of the game.
  • The heart of the San Marco District takes place as a multiplayer map in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

Appearances

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Assassin's Creed II
  2. ↑ Assassin's Creed II: Auditore Family Crypt

Gallery

Characters
Claudia • Ezio • Federico • Giovanni • Maria • Mario • Petruccio | Domenico • Isabetta • Renato
Isu
Others
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Terms and concepts
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DLC

Characters
Factions
Locations
Events
Terms and concepts
Weapons and tools

Characters
Assassins
Templars
Isu
Others
Animi Avatars
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DLC
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