Riva Degli Schiavoni

The Riva degli Schiavoni is a waterfront area in Venice, Italy. There is a lively—albeit often overcrowded—promenade along the waterfront, which sits on St. Mark's Basin.

It was originally built in the ninth century from dredged silt and was named for the Slavic men who brought cargo to Venice from across the Adriatic Sea. Many of the boats and launches that ferry tourists from the mainland and cruise ships stop at the Riva to allow passengers to disembark close to Piazza San Marco. There are other landmarks named after the early Slav merchants such as Palazzo Schiavoni, Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, and a naval detachment of ''oltremarini'', a mercenary group of Slavs either from the Montenegrin or Dalmatian litoral who as ''uskoks'' decided to join the Republic of Venice and fight a common enemy in the Candian Wars. Also, today Schiavone is a common Italian surname. In Italian schiavona is a basket-hilted sword.

Market stalls

The market stalls that crowd the area probably had their start in the fifteenth century, when Slavs and Greeks moved into the area and would line the promenade to sell their meat and dried fish near the wharf.

The stalls are still in operation today, selling snacks, pastries, confections, and souvenirs of Venice. They are located in front of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark Square.

Based on its past's enormous shipping industry, powerful navy, and all-consuming passion for trade. Venice then remained a world power for centuries. Venetian merchants and sailors dominated the Adriatic and ruled the Dalmatian litoral, establishing commercial ties with the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Those ties obviously influenced directly or indirectly the architecture of the Cathedral of St. Mark, San Giorgio dei Greci and Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni and San Lorenzo where Marco Polo is buried.

Beginning in the year 697, Venice was ruled by a ''doge.'' At first, the office was passed along to a few influential families, but eventually, there was a reaction from the growing number of important wealthy Venetian migrant merchants who invested most of their fortunes in the Republic. It was in the 13th-century that a deliberative body—the Grand Council—was created. Each of the Republic of Venice's six districts, elected 40 members—a Council of Forty. The body appointed all of the state officers, including the ''doge''.

By early 14th-century (1297 to be exact), the city state's unlimited wealth led to the Venetians' decision to define precisely who qualified to be a citizen. All families who were members of the grand councils were accepted, but to decide on others, a Commission of Three was created.

Those who were excluded rebelled but the revolt was crushed. A council Of Ten was then formed to be a "committee of public safety." This council eventually became tremendously powerful.

Though the Republic of Venice existed solely by trade, over time it became riddled with a stifling bureaucracy and corruption. There were so many councils and committees that it was nearly impossible to get things done.

Longstanding, however, was the relationship between the Republic of Venice and the Dalmatian coastline. During the early period, Venetian trading vessels were attacked repeatedly by the ''uskoks'' pirates of the Dalmatian coast. Eventually one group was subdued through bribery, and the continuous Ottoman threat persuaded the remaining pirate enclaves to join in a quasi- vassalship with fellow Christians of the Republic of Venice.

Soon, however, the end of the Republic of Venice came in 1797 when it was abolished by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna awarded Austria the city state of Venice and all of its provinces, including the Dalmatian coastline.

Their demise notwithstanding, the Republic of Venice left a legacy that cannot be underestimated or understated. It was the embodiment of maritime success from 697 to 1797.

Buildings along the waterfront

* Hotel Danieli

References

External links

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Geography of Venice

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