Northern Italy and Venice in World History Perspective
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THOMAS MOUNKHALL Northern Italy and Venice in World History Perspective uring the past year, my wife and I took a trip through Northern Italy and Venice. The Djourney started in Milano, went north to Bellano and Tirano and then came south to Verona. The second leg of the excursion went north again through Trento and the Sud- Tyrol, which was Austrian territory until 1919 CE. The tour ended with a five day stay in Venice. As interesting as this tour proved in terms of gaining insight into Italian history, its value to me as a world historian was in increasing my knowledge about northern Italy’s place in world history I saw this ever where, from a museum in Milano focused on Roman Milano, through a medieval pilgrimage site in Tirano, to a Fascist-dedicated water tower in the Lake Isola region. What struck me most were the many cross-regional connections that directly influenced the region’s people during Post-Classic and Early Modern World History. Yet, northern Italy has always taken second place to the South multicultural south on that score, in terms of both research and teaching about world history. This study seeks to demonstrate the influence of these trans-regional linkages on north- ern Italy and Venice. Specific, teachable examples, with supporting classroom exercises, will provided. These are classified into six categories: long distance trade, technological diffusion, architectural diffusion, cultural diffusion, disease diffusion and flora diffusion. Even though these six groups will be treated separately in this work, in many cases their effects can be easily developed in an interrelated manner. Long-Distance-Trade From the 12th to the 15th century CE, the city state of Venice was the number one entrepot of long- distance trade in Western Europe. Its location at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, which gives relatively easy access to seaborne routes to the Middle East and North Africa, was a huge factor in its commercial success. The Adriatic Sea lead directly into the Grand Canal of the city, which was the place where the grandest merchant houses were built. These three- story structures were places of business and family residences at the World History Connected Vol. 18, no. 2 June/July 2021 © 2021 by World History Connected Mounkhall | Northern Italy and Venice in World History same time. The ground floors of these buildings were storehouses and the second and third floors served as living quarters. (Please see Image 1 in Appendix.) The Rialto Spice Market was the center of Venetian long-distance trade. Located right on the Grand Canal, it was the place where Central Asian, Middle Eastern and North Afri- can goods were bought and sold. Luxury non- European goods dominated this exchange with silks, perfumes, cinnamon, ginger and especially black pepper occupying places of priority1. Goods traded for these non- Western items included timber, furs and honey all of which had been transferred to Venice by Hanse merchants from the Baltic Sea Region. (Please see Image 2 in Appendix.) The Catholic Church’s rule that Friday had to be meatless greatly contributed to the long- distance links of Post- Classic Venice. Cod are indigenous to the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland and the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1533 CE witnessed see- ing circa a thousand Basque fishing vessels in the region harvesting the fish. The cod were salted, which preserved them until placed into fresh water. This product of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean was introduced to Italy in 1443 CE by Catalans.2 (Please see Image 3 in Appendix.) Technological Diffusion There are a few noteworthy examples of Byzantine technological ideas in Northern Italy. The roof of the Duomo in Milano, where construction began in 1386 CE, is supported by many flying buttresses. The conventional belief is that these impressive architectural ele- ments have their origin in Western European 12th century CE Gothic design but in reality, their beginnings were in the 4th century CE Eastern Roman Empire. An excellent exemplar can be found at the Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki, Greece which was constructed in 306 CE. One of its roof sections is supported by two massive exterior buttresses. (Please see Image 4 in the Appendix.) The Chiesa di Santa Marta in Bellano, Italy, which was constructed in 1455 CE, fea- tures a beautiful dome situated over a square floor space. This design predates the Chiesa di Santa Marta by nine hundred years and its origin was in the 6th century CE Byzantine Empire. A round dome over a square floor space was initially developed in the great Byz- antine Church of Hagia Sophia, which dates to 537 CE and is located in Constantinople/ Istanbul, Turkey. In addition to the round dome over a square space, the Byzantine architects developed the architectural element of the pendentive. Four of these triangular pieces of stone served to take the weight of the dome to the floor by way of four columns located in the corners of the square floor space. The dome of Santa Marta is held up by four beautiful examples of pendentives. (Please see Image 5 in Appendix.) A few buildings in Monte Isola, which is on an island in Lake Iseo in Northern Italy, exhibit outdoor painted sculptures in the tradition of Luca della Robbia from 15th century 2 Mounkhall | Northern Italy and Venice in World History CE Florence, Italy. To the casual viewer, these statues seem to be a twenty-first continu- ation of a Renaissance art form, but this is not the case. The painted colors on the exte- rior sculptures are protected by a tin glaze process initially developed in 9th century CE Abbasid Dynasty Baghdad, Iraq. Muslim chemists cultivated this ceramic invention in an attempt to approximate the quality of Chinese blue and white porcelain. They failed in this attempt, but the process was transferred by Muslim artisans from the Middle East across North Africa and into Islamic Spain. From Andalusia, the tin glazed method diffused into Italy and became a standard process for the della Robbia business. (Please see Image 6 in the Appendix.) A second exemplar of this Medieval Muslim craft can be found in the village of Bolz- ano, Italy. A museum there has a room warmer on display that dates from c. 1770 CE. The outer covering of this apparatus is tin glazed ceramic, which is colored blue and white. The geometric color scheme is much closer to its Islamic prototype from the 9th century CE Abbasid Dynasty in Iraq than the della Robbia referenced above. The originators of this chemical process were trying to copy Chinese Tang Dynasty porcelain, which favored a blue and white pattern. (Please see Image 7 in the Appendix.) The Sforza Castle located in Milan is a fine model of polycentrism. It was initially constructed as the base of the Visconti Lords in c. 1368 CE. The design of the fortress with straight walls was effective for the 14th century CE but new weaponry required architec- tural innovations by c. 1500 CE. In the early 16th century CE, Milan was controlled by the Sforza Family, who hired Leonardo da Vinci to remodel the castle in light of the influence of cannons in Italian Renaissance warfare. The cannon was invented in Italy during the 15th century CE but its antecedents stretched across the Middle East, Central Asia to Medi- eval East Asia. Gunpowder and early firearms both date to Song Dynasty China 960–1279 CE. However, it was the Mongols, who carried this technology across Central Asia to the Middle East in the 13th and 14th centuries CE. From Southwest Asia, Muslims took the technology into Western Europe by way of North Africa and Islamic Spain. Following the use of early firearms in the Spanish Reconquista and the Hundred Years War, a recogniz- able cannon appeared in 15th century CE Italy. As a consequence, the straight walls of the Visconti fortress became obsolete and were replaced by the star fort design which was also a technological innovation of Renaissance Italy. This innovative plan featured triangular bastions built at intervals along the castle walls with earthen ravelins constructed in front to absorb cannon balls before they hit the walls. (Please Image 8 in the Appendix.) Architectural Diffusion Northern Italy has many beautiful exemplars of architecture that has been directly influ- enced by Islamic design. The ogee arch, which has an exaggerated pointed style at its apex, has its origin in Medieval Persia.3 Trade contacts with Venice brought this style of arch into 3 Mounkhall | Northern Italy and Venice in World History Western Europe. The Chiesa di San Martino in Tirano, Italy exhibits an excellent example. (Please see Image 9 in Appendix.) There are many attractive examples of the mixtilinear (intermixed triangles and cir- cles) arch in Northern Italy. This architectural element features a Roman arch but instead of being uniform in shape it displays many angles inside the arch. Its origin was in 11th century CE Moorish Spain and from there it spread to Muslim North Africa. Architectural historians4 believe that it came into Venice as a result of Venetian trade connections with the Levant and was used to decorate San Marco Basilica by 1175 CE. (Please see Image 10 in Appendix.) The simple pointed arch can be seen throughout Northern Italy, It was first used in the construction of the al- Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 780 CE. From this initial usage, the design diffused along with Muslim imperialism to the city of Cairo, Egypt where it was employed in the building of one of the first mosques in this urban area.