Gorgeous youths, Companions of the Hose (_della
calza_), in jackets of crimson velvet, with slashed sleeves lined with
squirrel fur, preceded and followed the bridegroom's train.
calza_), in jackets of crimson velvet, with slashed sleeves lined with
squirrel fur, preceded and followed the bridegroom's train.
Byron
_, 1821, pp.
305-324), and no
less from a passage in Smedley's _Sketches from Venetian History_ (1832,
ii. 93-105), which was substituted for the French "Pieces
justificatives," in the collected edition of 1832-1835, xiii. 198-202,
and the octavo edition of 1837, etc. , pp. 790, 791.
Francesco, son of Nicolo Foscari, was born in 1373. He was nominated a
member of the Council of Ten in 1399, and, after holding various offices
of state, elected Doge in 1423. His dukedom, the longest on record,
lasted till 1457. He was married, in 1395, to Maria, daughter of Andrea
Priuli, and, _en secondes noces_, to Maria, or Marina, daughter of
Bartolommeo Nani. By his two wives he was the father of ten
children--five sons and five daughters. Of the five sons, four died of
the plague, and the fifth, Jacopo, lived to be the cause, if not the
hero, of a tragedy.
The younger of the "Two Foscari" was a man of some cultivation, a
collector and student of Greek manuscripts, well-mannered, and of ready
wit, a child and lover of Venice, but indifferent to her ideals and
regardless of her prejudices and restrictions. He seems to have begun
life in a blaze of popularity, the admired of all admirers. His wedding
with Lucrezia Contarini (January, 1441) was celebrated with a novel and
peculiar splendour.
Gorgeous youths, Companions of the Hose (_della
calza_), in jackets of crimson velvet, with slashed sleeves lined with
squirrel fur, preceded and followed the bridegroom's train. A hundred
bridesmaids accompanied the bride. Her dowry exceeded 16,000 ducats, and
her jewels, which included a necklace worn by a Queen of Cyprus, were
"rich and rare. " And the maiden herself was a pearl of great price. "She
behaved," writes her brother, "and does behave, so well beyond what
could have been looked for. I believe she is inspired by God! "
Jacopo had everything which fortune could bestow, but he lacked a
capacity for right conduct. Four years after his marriage (February 17,
1445) an accusation was laid before the Ten (Romanin, _Storia_, etc. ,
iv. 266) that, contrary to the law embodied in the Ducal _Promissione_,
he had accepted gifts of jewels and money, not only from his
fellow-citizens, but from his country's bitterest enemy, Filippo
Visconti, Duke of Milan. Jacopo fled to Trieste, and in his absence the
Ten, supported by a giunta of ten, on their own authority and
independently of the Doge, sentenced him to perpetual banishment at
Nauplia, in Roumania. One of the three _Capi di' dieci_ was Ermolao (or
_Venetice_ Almoro) Donato, of whom more hereafter. It is to be noted
that this sentence was never carried into effect. At the end of four
months, thanks to the intervention of five members of the Ten, he was
removed from Trieste to Treviso, and, two years later (September 13,
1447), out of consideration to the Doge, who pleaded that the exile of
his only son prevented him from giving his whole heart and soul to the
Republic, permitted to return to Venice. So ends the first chapter of
Jacopo's misadventures. He stands charged with unlawful, if not
criminal, appropriation of gifts and moneys.
less from a passage in Smedley's _Sketches from Venetian History_ (1832,
ii. 93-105), which was substituted for the French "Pieces
justificatives," in the collected edition of 1832-1835, xiii. 198-202,
and the octavo edition of 1837, etc. , pp. 790, 791.
Francesco, son of Nicolo Foscari, was born in 1373. He was nominated a
member of the Council of Ten in 1399, and, after holding various offices
of state, elected Doge in 1423. His dukedom, the longest on record,
lasted till 1457. He was married, in 1395, to Maria, daughter of Andrea
Priuli, and, _en secondes noces_, to Maria, or Marina, daughter of
Bartolommeo Nani. By his two wives he was the father of ten
children--five sons and five daughters. Of the five sons, four died of
the plague, and the fifth, Jacopo, lived to be the cause, if not the
hero, of a tragedy.
The younger of the "Two Foscari" was a man of some cultivation, a
collector and student of Greek manuscripts, well-mannered, and of ready
wit, a child and lover of Venice, but indifferent to her ideals and
regardless of her prejudices and restrictions. He seems to have begun
life in a blaze of popularity, the admired of all admirers. His wedding
with Lucrezia Contarini (January, 1441) was celebrated with a novel and
peculiar splendour.
Gorgeous youths, Companions of the Hose (_della
calza_), in jackets of crimson velvet, with slashed sleeves lined with
squirrel fur, preceded and followed the bridegroom's train. A hundred
bridesmaids accompanied the bride. Her dowry exceeded 16,000 ducats, and
her jewels, which included a necklace worn by a Queen of Cyprus, were
"rich and rare. " And the maiden herself was a pearl of great price. "She
behaved," writes her brother, "and does behave, so well beyond what
could have been looked for. I believe she is inspired by God! "
Jacopo had everything which fortune could bestow, but he lacked a
capacity for right conduct. Four years after his marriage (February 17,
1445) an accusation was laid before the Ten (Romanin, _Storia_, etc. ,
iv. 266) that, contrary to the law embodied in the Ducal _Promissione_,
he had accepted gifts of jewels and money, not only from his
fellow-citizens, but from his country's bitterest enemy, Filippo
Visconti, Duke of Milan. Jacopo fled to Trieste, and in his absence the
Ten, supported by a giunta of ten, on their own authority and
independently of the Doge, sentenced him to perpetual banishment at
Nauplia, in Roumania. One of the three _Capi di' dieci_ was Ermolao (or
_Venetice_ Almoro) Donato, of whom more hereafter. It is to be noted
that this sentence was never carried into effect. At the end of four
months, thanks to the intervention of five members of the Ten, he was
removed from Trieste to Treviso, and, two years later (September 13,
1447), out of consideration to the Doge, who pleaded that the exile of
his only son prevented him from giving his whole heart and soul to the
Republic, permitted to return to Venice. So ends the first chapter of
Jacopo's misadventures. He stands charged with unlawful, if not
criminal, appropriation of gifts and moneys.
