Venice: The Meeting of East and West - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 82

stood as real-world evidence that Venice was free and independent, a republic, one whose
architecture carried themes of the great church of Constantinople, Santa Sophia.
VENICE AND THE CRUSADES
In 1095 Pope Urban II called for a Great Crusade to liberate the Holy Land from its Muslim
conquerors. Venice now operated three profitable enterprises. The first was the leasing of
ships to Crusaders to carry men, arms, horses, military machines, and the lords and ladies
who would rule the captured lands. The second was the buying and transporting of treas-
ure taken from such lands. And as a third commercial enterprise, after Jerusalem had been
taken by the Crusaders in 1098, Venice organized Europe's very first tourist service: car-
rying pilgrims to the Holy Land, arranging tours of holy sites, and providing tour guides,
housing, and even audiences with powerful and important people.
In 1204, in the Fourth Crusade, Venice schemed to let profit come before virtue. Venice
once again agreed (for a handsome profit) to carry Crusaders to the eastern war. But when
money was not forthcoming, the doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, had a plan. Forget the
Holy Land; capture Constantinople, throw out Byzantium's emperors, and loot the city!
The battle for Constantinople became Christian invader against Christian defender. The
conquerors took religious comfort (and the papal blessing) from the fact that the Patriarch
of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople presided over two rival churches, Catholic
and Orthodox.
When Charlemagne's crown had been consecrated by the Pope, the Patriarch of Con-
stantinople took grave offense. Some years later, the Pope excommunicated the Patriarch
and all his followers. The Patriarch, in turn, pronounced anathema upon the Pope. It be-
came a breach between Christians of the East and West that remains unhealed today.
The spoils of the Fourth Crusade made Venice even richer in gold, silver, precious
jewels, and magnificent works of art. The bronze horses that stand atop the portals of the
Church of St. Mark are the most spectacular of Venice's stolen goods (the horses are cop-
ies; the originals are stored for safekeeping). Doge Dandolo died in Venice. As befitting its
ruler, he was buried in the great Church of Santa Sophia, where a plaque marks the place of
his crypt. The crypt is now probably empty. When the Byzantine emperor retook his throne,
legend has it that Dandolo's remains were thrown to ravenous dogs.
By 1298, the Crusades' glory days were gone. Muslims had captured nearly all of the
Crusaders' strongholds. Acre was the last to fall, in 1291. But again, willing to let profit
supersede virtue, Venice had few scruples about trading with Islamic cultures. Its mer-
chant fleet now brought to Europe the luxury goods of the East: pepper, spices, silks, and
porcelain. Constantinople had been restored as the capital city of Byzantium, but on May
29, 1453, disaster struck again. After years of assault and sieges, the great city was over-
run by the Ottoman Turks, who then continued their westward sweep into the Mediter-