The city became a hub, a trade centre, a city where you could find ordinary goods together with sophisticated and rare ones, manufactured by highly skilled artisans. Western and Eastern influences found in the city a fertile ground where it was possible to develop a unique style, the Venetian one, modelled on a Western base and enriched with Byzantine, Islamic, Spanish influences. For sure it looked “bizarre” to purists, but it was extremely attractive to the eyes, with such a taste for overall decoration, the elaborate interlaced branches all around the church portals, the colorful mosaics, the gilt tips of the Gothic arches with a Moorish touch.

Is it possible to define a “Venetian way of seeing the world”? Well, for sure local merchants needed foreigners, so the city developed a culture of tolerance and acceptance, although foreigners were supposed to accept Venetian strict regulations, under the control of the proper police. But they could improve their lifestyle in Venice, found a good place where to stay, raise a family and be happy. Which is the largest canvas in the Grand Council Hall? The Heaven by Tintoretto, and surely the Doge’s Palace was neither a church nor a monastery, but Venice was supposed to embody, in the whole world, the Heaven on earth with the Doge staying at the bottom. Happiness was a goal everybody was working for………

Not only businessmen had to be flexible and deal with foreigners, but also those who worked in the Arts, like painters, comedians, musicians who compared themselves with colleagues coming from abroad, since Venice was an international stage which played an important role in a successful artistic career. This happened especially in the age of Casanova when trade was declining, while visual arts benefited from the latest European trends, many intellectuals and painters travelled and made their reputation throughout Europe (see Francesco Algarotti, Sebastiano Ricci, Bernardo Bellotto, Canaletto etc.).

Venice was renowned as the European capital of pleasure due to the sumptuous Carnival, but above all for freedom, in terms of free thinking and licentious costumes,a secular attitude towards life and human relationships.

You can describe a whole century, particularly the last one of the Republic, by analyzing the relationship between food and love. In this sense, how can we skip Giacomo Casanova? Not only because of his reputation as a consummate seducer and gourmand, but for his essays and meditations on both subjects, his intellectual and natural approach according to the way of seeing things on those days.

In fact he said “The chief business of my life was to cultivate whatever gave me pleasure to my senses”, a statement which the whole world would share……….. but he found a reason for it, deeply rooted in the history of his life. As soon as he was born, on April 2^nd 1725, his mother asked for a dish of prawns. This episode marked his life or justified his greediness and ,of course, prawns were one of Giacomo’s favourite fish dishes……..

Over the centuries Venice spoiled, at different levels, the steady population, developed a taste for luxury and for the pleasures of life. The economy was based on trade, but how it got started? In the early days, since this small town was built on marshes, flat and unhealthy, which kind of product could offer to the Mediterranean countries? Could a place like that have a future? Not at all, unless locals would bring the whole world to their own country, travel and negotiate with all sorts of people in order to obtain the best prices for the best goods.

So far nobody knew what Venice was, and it was very important to become respected and influential merchants. So the Venetians started an import-export business with the Greeks and the Arabs, who were already operating in the Mediterranean market. They managed to get amazing commercial privileges from the Byzantine Emperors, earn a lot of money and fame by supplying the Arabs with wood, metals and slaves. This happened from the IXth through the XIth century. Like any other merchant, Venetians were unscrupulous, self-confident, and Christians, despite the constant reproaches of the Pope!

To be continued………..