Venetian History and Ships

This article explores the significance of writing history for a late medieval Antwerp patrician family. In recent historiography, these families (in this case Van Halmale)  have not received the attention they deserve, in part because their social status is difficult to pin down. Although members of the family Van Halmale had knightly titles and performed deeds of arms on the battlefield and during tournaments, their noble status was not undisputed. Both a chronicle and a tournament diary written by different members of the Van Halmale family reflect the aspirations of a dominant social category in the late medieval towns of Brabant, Flanders, and Holland. Their writings reflect how these men perceived themselves and how they wanted their contemporaries and peers to perceive them. In that sense the writing of history was indeed a means for nobles (and would-be-nobles) to justify (or to claim) their privileged position. Their works helped them to express their identity as powerful aldermen, firmly rooted in an urban environment but with open minds for the world of princes and (inter)national politics.

In 1606, a new ‘Bucintoro’, the Doge's legendary boat, a floating Theatre of Memory, was built in Venice. A large sculpture on the prow, behind that of Venice-Justice, represents Giorgio Castriota Scanderbeg, Prince of Epirus, modern Albania; it was commonly called ‘The Giant’. No one has ever investigated its meaning. In this article, the reasons for positioning it on the prow are explained both in relation to the specific historical 'post-Lepanto' period, and the new Ottoman pressure on Western Europe and the 'Stato da Mar' of Venice, and to the historical framework of economic and political connections between Venice and Albania in existence since the 14th century.

To read the full article see:
http://www.engramma.it/eOS/index.php?id_articolo=3845

Brodolom trgovačkog broda iz 16. st. kod otoka Verude blizu Pule. Podvodna arheološka istraživanja 2013.-2021. g. Shipwreck of a merchant ship from the 16th century near the island of Veruda near Pula. Underwater archaeological investigations 2013-2021 Urednik Editor Luka Bekić

Brodolom trgovačkog broda iz 16. st. kod otoka Verude blizu Pule. Podvodna arheološka istraživanja 2013.-2021. g.

Shipwreck of a merchant ship from the 16th century near the island of Veruda near Pula. Underwater archaeological investigations 2013-2021

Urednik / Editor Luka Bekić

Tra i contenuti, si possono segnalare: inedite osservazioni sul celebre dipinto Miracolo della reliquia della Croce a Rialto, di Vittor Carpaccio, riguardanti sia dettagli topografici e architettonici che alcuni dei personaggi minori raffigurati nella scena; trascrizione e traduzione di varie testimonianze storiche sul Bucintoro del XV secolo; iconografia del Bucintoro, più precisamente relativa al periodo compreso tra la fine del XV e il XVI secolo; analisi dell'evoluzione morfologica dell'imbarcazione dogale, nel suo fondamentale quanto ignorato adeguamento avvenuto all’inizio del 1500, se non negli ultimi 2-3 anni del ‘400; esame iconografico della nota, ma scarsamente o per nulla approfondita, xilografia anonima appartenente al British Museum di Londra e raffigurante il Bucintoro “dai tralci di vite” in navigazione di fronte a Riva del Vin a Rialto, con l’inedita, esatta individuazione dell’evento storico rappresentato, associata al riconoscimento di particolari personaggi, tra i 705 in totale raffigurati, che costituiscono casi di assoluta precocità e singolarità nei diversi campi della storia politica, del costume, delle corporazioni e dello spettacolo nella città di Venezia.
In appendice, contributi che integrano il primo volume della collana per quanto riguarda le case dei Bombardieri e Corte Nova di Santa Ternita, nel sestiere di Castello. In particolare, riguardo a Corte Nova o Morosini, risulta identificato il preciso periodo di costruzione e viene confermata la committenza.

Among the contents, you can highlight: unpublished observations on the famous painting by Vittor Carpaccio, Miracle of the Relic of the Cross in Rialto, concerning both topographical and architectural details, that some of the minor characters portrayed in the scenes; transcription and translation of various historical evidence of the fifteenth century on the Bucintoro; iconography of the Bucintoro, more precisely relative to the period between the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; analysis of the morphological evolution of doge's vessel, in its fundamental but ignored adaptation occurred in the early 1500s, if not in the last 2-3 years of the 1400s; iconographic examination of the note, but little or nothing studied, anonymous woodcut belonging to the British Museum in London and depicting the Bucintoro "dai tralci di vite" that navigates in front of Riva del Vin in Rialto, with the all-new, precise identification of historic event represented, associated with the recognition of special figures, among the 705 in total represented, which constitute cases of absolute earliness and uniqueness in the different fields of political history and of that of the costume, of the corporations and of the spetacle in the city of Venice.
In the appendix, contributions that integrate the first volume of the this series with respect to the houses of Bombardieri (gunners) and Corte Nova of Santa Ternita, in Castello district. In particular, with regard to the Court Nova or Morosini, it is identified the precise period of construction and is confirmed the costumer.