Encyclopedia • guide
A face covered with a black mask: the Moretta (The mute mask)
A mask typically of the fairer sex, particularly appreciated by men for its characteristic of not allowing the wearer to speak. What pleased the women, however, was certainly the aura of mystery and the anonymity that...
A transvestite: the Gnaga or catwoman
Some believe that the name derives from gnau, the sound a cat makes, and it was certainly a disguise that was appreciated by young homosexuals who were forced to hide their sexuality during the rest of the year....
Acqua alta (high water)
In Venice, high water is always high tide, but high tide is not always high water. Sea level is subject to a cycle of variable rise and fall over time, fluctuating globally in response to the increasing or...
Acqua granda or aqua granda (big water)
High water in Venice and the lagoon is often annoying, uncomfortable and sometimes harmful — and the current climate change is accentuating the phenomenon in frequency and intensity. However, there are two episodes...
Agnello Partecipazio
Partecipazio, Angelo or Agnello, tribune of Rialto and wealthy landowner of Eraclea, was chosen as doge for being the real protagonist of the defence against Pepin's attempt to invade the Lagoon. It seems that it...
Ala Napoleonica or Procuratie Nuovissime
The derogatory name of ‘Napoleonic Wing’ derives from the decision of Bonaparte to demolish the church of San Geminiano (a very old place of worship which was rebuilt in the XVI century by Jacopo Sansovino) in favor of...
Algarotti Francesco
His teachers were Eustachio Manfredi and Francesco Maria Zanotti but also Iacopo Bartolomeo Beccari, who channelled him towards the study of experimental physics and medicine. His earliest writings were on astronomy...
Alvise Contarini
He was almost 75 years old (he was born on 24 October 1601) and belonged to the Castello branch, known as the Iron Gate. His cursus honorum was marked by prestigious stages: ambassador to Holland (1631), France (...
Alvise I Mocenigo
He was 63 years old (he was born in 1507). A cultured man and member of the Accademia della Fama, he eschewed mercantile activities and was a patron of science, letters and the arts. He held numerous diplomatic...
Alvise II Mocenigo
He was 72 years old (he was born on 3 February 1628) and very rich. He never spoke of women. He was a virgin. During his dogado the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) broke out in which all the European...
Alvise IV Mocenigo
He was 62 years old (he was born on 19 May 1701). In one of his speeches to the Senate he said: However sweet and desirable peace may be, it is nevertheless harmful and fatal to every state, when the love of...
Alvise Pisani
He was 71 years old (he was born on 1 January 1664), belonged to the Pisani di Santo Stefano family, a cadet branch of the family of the same name, and had travelled all the stages of the Venetian cursus honorum: sage...