- Venice Incognito: Masks in the Serene Republic, James H. Johnson, c. 2011
- History of My Life: Giacomo Casanova, Everyman's Library edition, c. 2007
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What Goes Around, Comes Around
Through the the 16th to the 19th century, Italy: family cults -- dominated their fellow-citizens and turned nominal republics into autocracies, if not dictatorships
- Medici in Florence
- the della Scala in Verona
- the Gonzaga in Mantua
- the Este in Ferrara
- the Sforza and the Visconti in Milan
The Venetians turned away from this. The Most Serene Republic might not have been totally democratic but it was certainly more so (with the arguable exception of Switzerland) than any other country in Europe.Wow, does that sound like the "Deep State" in the United States? Has the president become more and more just a figurehead as Congress and federal judges? Is it the FCC, the FTC, the EPA, and a gazillion other "alphabet" committees and agencies the ones that really run the US government. Just the other day it was said that the second most powerful person in the world, right behind the President of the United States, was the US Federal Reserve chairperson, currently, Janet Yellen.
- the basic principle of the their constitution: no one family or individual could ever wax too great
- the Doge was a figurehead; only able to act when surrounded by his six Savii or wise men; probably yielded less effective power than the Queen of England today
- the real government of the country was in the hands of black-robed and faceless committees, their composition constantly changing
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New Words, Phases, Concepts
The Most Serene Republic
rakehell
the Grand Tour
seigneur
inamorata
Casanova:
- two of the most important ingredients of greatness: total self-confidence and superabundant energy
- a third great strength -- a negative strength perhaps, but every bit as important as the other two: Casanova was totally devoid of a sense of morality
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