Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From Colonisation to Revolution
When Napoleon arrived in 1797, Venice had been reduced by plague and circumstances
from 175,000 to fewer than 100,000 people, and their reputation as fierce partiers did noth-
ing to prevent the French and Austrians from handing the city back and forth as a war
trophy. Venice declared its neutrality in the war between France and Austria, but that didn't
stop Napoleon. Venetian warships managed to deter one French ship by the Lido, but when
Napoleon made it clear he intended to destroy the city if it resisted, the Maggior Consiglio
(Grand Council) decreed the end of the Republic. The doge reportedly doffed the signature
cap of his office with a sigh, saying, 'I won't be needing this any more'. Rioting citizens
were incensed by such cowardice, but French forces soon ended the insurrection, and
began systematically plundering the city.
Though Napoleon only controlled Venice sporadically for a total of about 11 years, the
impact of his reign is still visible. Napoleon grabbed any Venetian art masterpiece that
wasn't nailed down, and displaced religious orders to make room for museums and trophy
galleries in the Gallerie dell'Accademia and Museo Correr. Napoleon's city planners lifted
remaining restrictions on the Jewish Ghetto, filled in canals and widened city streets to fa-
cilitate movement of troops and loot; his decorators established a style of gaudy gold cor-
nices and whimsical grotesques. Napoleon lost control of Venice in 1814, and two years
later one-quarter of Venice's population was destitute.
But Austria had grand plans for Venice, and expected impoverished Venetians to foot the
bill. They were obliged to house Austrian soldiers, who spent off-duty hours carousing with
bullfights, beer and their new happy-hour invention, the
spritz
(a
prosecco
-and-bitters
cocktail). Finding their way back home afterwards was a challenge in Venetian
calli
(alley-
ways), so the Austrians implemented a street-numbering system. To bring in reinforce-
ments and supplies, they dredged and deepened entrances to the lagoon for ease of shipping
access and began a train bridge in 1841 - all with Venetian labour and special Venetian
taxes. To make way for the new train station in 1846,
scuole
(religious confraternities) and
a palace were demolished.
With no say in the Austrian puppet government running Venice, many Venetians voted
with their feet: under the Austrians, the population fell from 138,000 to 99,000. When a
young lawyer named Daniele Manin suggested reforms to Venice's puppet government in
1848, he was tossed into prison - sparking a popular uprising against the Austrians that
would last 17 months. Austria responded by bombarding and blockading the city. In July,
Austria began a 24-day artillery bombardment, raining some 23,000 shells down on the city
