The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice

by Laura Rahme

  And what do you think I did, Antonio?

  I returned to this place, this silver shop, in the middle of the night. I found the old hag and I questioned her. Of course she claimed to know nothing. It took certain means of persuasion before the ugly witch consented to grant me your precious diary.

  Its pages, including the evidence you retrieved from the Consiglio dei Dieci, are long destroyed now, burned in the mantelpiece of the Ca’ Contarini. I remember that I watched every leaf of paper shrivel and turn to cinders. And while many years have passed, it always pleases me that I was able to do so.

  I was content until I learned of your escape. Since then, I did not rest until I had found you. And now that I have found you, I feel that I am closer to understanding my father than I ever was. Do you see my meaning, Antonio?

  You must know that my mother wears her cimaruta at all times. She has faith in the power of the talisman to protect her, but she refuses to wear any mask unless she is certain of its maker. Though you are several days journey away from us, she lives in fear nevertheless.

  She is terrified of her–that spawn of the devil, who lives with you and whom you have since taken as your wife.

  I am not.

  I know what you and your witches do by the walnut tree, in the groves of Benevento. My spy has told me all. And I have asked myself many times whether Elena Visconti might not have cast her spell on you.

  But with all I know, I am now forced to accept an idea that has long taunted me and which I once refused to acknowledge. And so, at present, I ask myself a different question, and even before it is answered, I am filled with a loathing that vexes my soul.

  What are you? What are you, Antonio da Parma?

  You almost had me fooled, avogadore, you two-faced consort of witches. But I have God on my side and I’ve nothing to fear. I am not the one who will be running for years to evade the Consiglio dei Dieci’s spies.

  And Antonio, if you ever return to Venezia, you and that offspring from hell who masquerades as a woman, you will know, that when Giacomo set out to murder Francesco Visconti, there coursed through his veins, not just petty jealousy, but the undying passion and determination of the Ca’ Contarini to protect family. If you as much believe that this same blood does not flow through my veins, then let this warning redress your error.

  I will be waiting.

  Lorenzo Contarini

  Epilogue

  It is not known what befell the island of Constanziaca. But time has long seen the lagoon waters rise. The island has disappeared, drowning its secrets with it.

  The world’s first official lazaretto was built in Venice in 1423, on the island of Santa Maria di Nazareth, known today as Lazaretto Vecchio.

  From April 1423, shortly after Francesco Foscari’s election, the Council of Ten acquired unprecedented powers.

  Between 1428 and 1500, a staggering number of men suspected of sodomy were persecuted, exiled, imprisoned or put to death in both Florence and Venice. This violent movement, led by such government bodies as the signori di notte in Florence and the Council of Ten in Venice, arose from fear of God’s displeasure. It came to be known as la grande paura. This ‘great fear’ has been attributed in part to one of the most influential religious forces of the time– Bernardino di Siena.

  In 1436, it was declared that a guild for the Venetian mascherari should be formed. Non-existent until then, this guild of mask makers operated like hundreds of other guilds in the Republic. Like all guilds, it served to maintain control over the popolani. No man or woman in Venice could practice a craft without first joining the relevant guild. By their nature, guilds imposed guidelines for good practice and punished those who did not abide. In certain cases, the guilds moved against strangers or foreigners from working in the Republic. Where once, it would have been possible for foreign mask makers to operate independently, producing masks irrespective of guidelines and standards, now the mascherari of Venice laid down stringent rules. Had she lived in Venice then, one such as Magdalena Visconti could never have begun her magic trade.

  By the 16th century, over fifty percent of Venetian patrician women ended in a convent - most nuns were confined against their wills. By that century, Venetian convents were seen by some as nothing more than ‘public whorehouses’. The San Lorenzo convent was a wealthy convent with a reputation for hosting a salon like gathering place for licentious patricians in the 17th century.

  Born on 14 February 1404– an Aquarian, the exceptionally clever Battista Alberti, who later named himself “Leone”, lived to become the epitome of the Renaissance man. During his life, he demonstrated genius as an artist, a mathematician, an athlete, an architect, a writer, a philosopher, a linguist and a cryptographer. In 1466, he forged the Alberti cipher, a code that proved impossible to break in his time. He is considered the father of Western Cryptology. Leon Battista Alberti’s genius was to be equaled by only one man several years his junior–Leonardo da Vinci.

  The Venetian cancellerias, known today as the Venetian State archives, are the world’s second largest after the archives of the Vatican. They are also the world’s oldest and most detailed, with documents dating from the 9th century. Today they are housed in the Convento di Frari, in San Polo.

  Elected shortly after Doge Tommaso Mocenigo’s death, Francesco Foscari went on to wage a series of ruinous wars against Milan until 1454. As predicted by Doge Mocenigo, Foscari’s focus on gaining terrafirma, came at a great cost. Francesco Foscari was later blamed for failing to prevent the losses of Venice’s eastern territories. In 1453, Constantinople, the center of Venetian trade with the Orient, was taken by the Turks. The effects on Venice would be devastating for years to come.

  To the question—“Did Venezia lose all she had?”—we can refer our reader to her subsequent losses in 1509, and her devastation under Napoleon from 1797. As far as we know, Mocenigo’s prophecy came true. To this day, he is noted for his wisdom and his uncanny insight into the future.

  The witches of Benevento have kept their secrets until today.

  Aradia

  “It has been written that you shall be free,

  And so shall you be free,

  In body, mind and spirit.”

  “Everything which lives is of male and female essence.

  Do not exalt one without the other.

  Come to know both as to be complete.

  Blessed be the free in spirit.”

  Glossary

  Armizare – literally ‘Art of Arms’; the term for martial arts in medieval Italy

  Arsenalotti – inhabitants and workers of the Arsenale; also called, Castellani; they were members of the popolani, which means they could not vote

  Avogadore – antique term for the Italian word, Avoccato (lawyer); a custodian of the proper administration of judicial matters according to the law; a guardian of the public interest who was called upon to apply and enforce the laws of the Republic; invested with certain inquisitor powers

  Bauta – a full-face mask, dating as far back as the 13th century, when the first document quoting its name was written; worn by commoners and nobles alike to protect one’s identity; due to its shape, it tended to modify the voice’s pitch

  Bravo – a ruffian, usually armed, prone to thieving, murdering and other dangerous exploits; often patronized by highly placed members of society

  Ca’ – Venetian short form for Casa

  Calle – a street

  Calli – plural of street

  Calza – male hose; also a club or guild where membership was usually reserved to patricians; as early as the 14th century, the make and color of a patrician’s hose might indicate the Compagnie della Calza (Trouser Club) to which he belonged

  Camicia – a long sleeved linen or silk blouse usually worn beneath a doublet

  Campo – a square; in Venice these were, and still are, numerous; a campo is usually attached to a small parish community and comprises a well, stores and a church

  Cancelleria – chancellery which
today, are known as ‘archives’; a restricted bureau within the Palazzo Ducale, where government documents were filed and stored; the initial home of the Venetian archives before files became voluminous and were stored elsewhere

  Candia – the Duchy of Candia was the official name of Crete during the period in which it was colonized by the Venetian Republic

  Carampana – a Venetian term for prostitute, meaning a woman of vulgar aspect or ‘slut’; so named after the Ca’ Rampani area, in which prostitution proliferated since 1358

  Carnivale – season of feasting and masked reveling which commenced before the Nativity and ended on Shrove Thursday at the start of the Lenten period

  Casa – term for ‘house’ but also, its residing family; can apply to the buildings owned by a certain Venetian family

  Cassoni – plural of cassone; a marriage chest, usually made of wood

  Cioppa – a pleated coat with hanging sleeves; a type of tabard

  Compagne – the term for young men and women who dressed together in costumes during the late 14th and early 15th century

  Compagnia dei corrieri – postal system; in Venice, this was established in the 14th century

  Condottiere – a mercenary of varying rank, usually employed in the army

  Deliberazioni – ‘deliberations’; largest body of non-Council of Ten documents held within the cancelleria secreta; comprising pacts and treaties originating from the Senate, instructions to ambassadors, foreign policy, home government relations with Rome and report by governors

  Denuncio segreto – secret denunciations which any Venetian could make against another provided there were two witnesses for the deed raised; encouraged by the Council of Ten to keep the population in check according to a principle of divide and rule but also to keep the Signoria informed and in power

  Dottore della peste – a medieval physician specializing in the treatment of plague victims, usually bearing a beaked mask containing several herbs known for their air purifying properties

  Fabriano – the name of a powerful feudal family who dominated the early paper manufacturing process in Italy; from the 14th century, Fabriano paper factories existed in Florence, Bologna, Parma, Milan and Venice and the paper making techniques which had originated in China and were first brought to Spain via the Arabs, was a closely guarded secret; over the course of the 15th century, vellum was gradually superseded by paper

  Felze – the cabin in the center of a gondola; this was eliminated in later centuries as it encouraged various intrigues

  Filze – a file; in the context of the Venetian archives

  Fio – term for ‘son’ in the Venetian dialect

  Fondamenta – the street running along the canal

  French Disease – or the pox, were both names for syphilis; in Italy, the disease was not officially identified until its spread during the Napoleonic invasion, when it was attributed to the French

  Gazzetta – literally ‘little magpie’; a coin that was usually paid to hear the latest (oral) news before the advent of the printed news

  Il Fiore – an Italian collection of 232 sonnets imitated from the 13th century French courtly poem, Le Roman de La Rose

  Jettatura – the evil eye

  Jettature – a projector of the evil eye; person known for casting ill-will upon another, usually via a compliment that one does not mean or which is filled with spite or envy

  Maleficio – one of the five bells in the San Marco campanile tower; it would announce executions

  Mamluk – mostly Turks; slave warriors of medieval Islam, who, in Egypt and Syria, overthrew their masters and formed the Mamluk dynasty; the Mamluks ruled Egypt and Syria from the 13th to 16th century

  Marangona – one of the five bells in the San Marco campanile tower; it would announce the beginning and end of the working day

  Mascheraro – a mask maker

  Meretrice – term for a public prostitute; prostitutes were legal in the Venice Republic

  Molo – the narrow embankment between the Palazzo Ducale and the lagoon, during the 15th century; there is today a much broader promenade extending to the lagoon known as Riva degli Schiavoni

  Mosche – tiny pieces of dark fabric, usually taffeta, placed in selected spots on a woman’s skin as beauty marks; they were worn to highlight the whiteness of a woman’s skin

  Muda – the armed convoy entrusted with escorting merchandise and protecting the interest of Venetian merchants from pirates and other threats at sea; protection by the muda was one of the advantages of becoming a Venetian citizen

  Natale – Italian for Christmas

  Nicolotti – a working class dweller living in the west of Venice (originally from the parish of S. Nicolò dei Mendicoli); had a long rivalry with the Castellani; also part of the non-voting popolani.

  Nona – one of the five bells of the San Marco campanile tower; it rings to signal noon

  Nonne – a nun

  Occulto – hidden; and pertaining to supernatural forces

  Parrochia – a parish, one of many in Venice; self-contained religious communities originating from the isolated nature of some Venetian islands prior to the advent of bridges

  Piazzetta – the smaller square beside the Palazzo Ducale, flanking the Piazza; it faces the lagoon and is overshadowed by two granite towers erected in the 13th century

  Ponte delle Tette – literally ‘bridge of tits’; a San Polo landmark so named after its resident prostitutes who were encouraged to exhibit themselves by the Signoria in the hope of luring men and hence discouraging increasing homosexual practices

  Puttana – a whore; the plural form is puttane

  Relazioni – dispatches from ambassadors posted outside Venezia; reports that the ambassadors read to the Senate upon their return home

  Rio – a canal stream

  Sala Gradenigo – a large room the in Eastern wing of the Palazzo Ducale; used for meetings of the Great Council until 1423; it has now been destroyed

  Sala di Maggior Consiglio – commenced in 1340, this large room in the Southern façade of the Palazzo Ducale would eventually replace the Sala Gradenigo; it was first used when Francesco Foscari became Doge

  Saracen – a term used in medieval Europe to denote a Muslim or an Arab

  Sbirri – plural of sbirro; armed law-enforcers some of who answered to the Council of Ten

  Scarmitor – a master of arms; someone trained in swordsmanship

  Sestiere – a district; Venice has six including San Marco (home of the Basilica), Castello (home of the Arsenale), San Polo (home to the Rialto bridge and market), Santa Croce, Dorsoduro (comprising Giudecca Island) and Cannaregio

  Signori di Notte – the lords of the night; armed spies, operating in secret, and usually answering to the Council of Ten

  Sinestra – Latin word for ‘left-handed’

  Sinistra – Italian for ‘left’

  Sottoportico – a passage beneath one or more buildings’ foundations; a porch which passes between houses.

  Strega – Italian for witch

  Tarocchi – Italian for Tarot; the 15th century Italian Tarocchi is one of the oldest known and was believed to have originated from Spain; cards were initially based on Mamluk card games which were prohibited on account of their Muslim origin

  Volto – an oval shaped mask which covers the lips

  Wells – the dungeons on the lower levels of the Palazzo Ducale

  Zoccoli – tall platform shoes worn as early as the 1400s in Italy and Spain; from the Italian word "zocco," meaning a stump or a block of wood

 

 

 
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