by Lina Ellina
The Venetian
By Lina Ellina
Credit page
Copyright © 2012 by Lina Ellina
All rights reserved. Published by Armida Publications Ltd.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to
Armida Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 27717, 2432 Engomi, Nicosia, Cyprus
or email: [email protected]
Armida Publications is a founding member of the Association of Cypriot Book Publishers, a member of the Independent Publishers Guild (UK),
and a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (USA)
www.armidabooks.com
Editing: Miriam Pirolo
Cover image: Portrait of a Young Man (detail) by Sandro Botticelli
This novel is a work of fiction in its entirety. The names, characters and incidents described in the novel are the work of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities, is completely coincidental.
ISBN-13 (kindle): 978-9963-706-36-5
Book and cover design by Armida
Table of Contents
Credit page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Andreas Christou - Mayor of Limassol
Foreword by Guglielmo Brusco - Vice-President of Rovigo
Preface
1 - Venice, 1467
2 - Rovigo, 2010
3 - Larnaka International Airport, 2010
4 - Venice, 1467
5 - Rovigo, 2010
6 - Lefkosia, 2010
7 - On board Miramare, 1467
8 - Rovigo, 2010
9 - Lemesos, 2010
10 - Episkopi, 1467
11 - Rovigo, 2010
12 - Lemesos, 2010
13 - 1467
14 - Rovigo, 2010
15 - Lemesos, 2010
16 - 1467
17 - Rovigo, 2010
18 - Lefkosia, 2010
19 - 1467
20 - Rovigo, 2010
21 - Lemesos, 2011
22 - 1467
23 - On board CY433, 2011
24 - Larnaka, 2011
25 - 1467
26 - Larnaka International Airport, 2011
27 - 1467
28 - 2011
29 - 1467
30 - 2011
31 - 1467
32 - 2011
33 - 1467
34 - 2011
35 - 1467
36 - Rovigo 2011
37 - 1467
38 - 2011
39 - 1467
40 - 2011
41 - 1467
42 - 2011
43 - 1467
44 - 2011
45 - 1467
46 - 2011
47 - 1467
48 - 2011
49 - 1467
50 - 2011
51 - 1467
52 - 2011
53 - 1467
54 - 2011
55 - 1467
56 - 2011
57 - 1467
58 - 2011
59 - 1467
60 - 2011
61 - 1467
62 - 2011
63 - 1468
64 - 2011
65 - 1468
66 - 2011
67 - 1468
68 - 2011
69 - 1468
70 - 2011
71 - 1468
72 - 2011
73 - 1468
74 - 2011
75 - 1468
76 - 2011
77 - 1468
78 - 2011
79 - 1468
80 - 2011
81 - 1468
82 - 2011
83 - 1468
84 - 2011
85 - 1468
86 - 2011
87 - 1468
88 - 2011
89 - 1468
90 - 2011
91 - 1468
92 - 2011
93 - 1468
94 - 2011
95 - 1468
96 - 2011
97 - 1468
98 - 2011
99 - 1468
About the Author
One last thing
Dedication
To my husband Andreas,
who has given me wings,
and our wonderful children
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following
for their invaluable advice and help with this book:
Maria Carlino, Anna Saif, Milena Furini, Dr Nicholas Coureas
Foreword by Andreas Christou - Mayor of Limassol
Medieval times in Cyprus is an extended period particularly significant to the evolution of the country, playing an important role in the island’s history, traditions, culture and interrelations with Europe.
The history, legends and oral testimonies of the period, still hold the interest of scientific researchers and scholars, intrigue the creativeness of writers and poets, and appeal to the imagination of every day individuals. The existing important monuments stand out like vigilant guards of a heritage not yet fully recorded and, to date, its depth and significance not yet fully revealed.
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when Lina Ellina was kind enough to entrust me with a first reading and request for a forward for her novel “The Venetian”.
This work is written in fluid and pleasant English. It is a novel that uses actual events and facts to unfold before us parallel human stories with great sensitivity and imagination.
With accuracy of description and narration, and in lyrical terms, the author analyzes characters, specifies actual places and locales, introduces historical documentation and includes elements of folkloric traditions. In this manner she succeeds in keeping the reader engaged until the very end.
After thoroughly studying all aspects of life in Medieval Cyprus, Lina Ellina proceeds to create an excellent novel where myth and fact are skillfully interwoven and developed. It is a novel that takes us to familiar landmarks where we encounter people close to us, persons who we feel have lived in the past and are still among us.
Foreword by Guglielmo Brusco - Vice-President of Rovigo
The Venetian explores the similarities that unite two peoples of the Mediterranean, the Italians and the Cypriots, both in the Middle Ages and in contemporary times.
With sensitivity and eloquence, Lina Ellina looks deeply into the soul of her protagonists, as she narrates their human concerns, interwoven with the developments of their time, customs, and traditions which depict both periods in detail.
The Venetian will not only thrill the reader with the accuracy of the historical research that allows us to take a peak in time, in people’s everyday life, but at the same time, it serves as a culinary guide to the island’s flavors.
It is Lina’s spiritual richness that comes out – a woman who has the smile as a basic element of her face, sensitivity as a quality in her relation with others, and love for other nations, reflected by the many languages she speaks. Positive energy in a sea of negative energy, certainly nourished by her life partner, the extraordinary Andreas.
The Venetian is an imaginary journey that brings two far-off lands together, an imaginary journey and a story one surely has to read and remember.
Preface
The Lusignan Period[1] (1192-1489) was perhaps Cyprus’ most illustrious epoch. An island rich in resources, at the crossroads of three continents between Occident and Orient, Cyprus was one of the most popular meeting places for trading Europe
an products for those from the East - especially during the papal embargo that prohibited Christians from trading in Muslim ports. As one Christian stronghold after another fell into Muslim hands in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, the kingdom of Cyprus attained an unprecedented position of influence and importance, given its small size, particularly during the first two hundred years of the Lusignan dynasty. Cypriots, the majority of whom were degraded to serfdom, however, had little - if any - share in the newfound prosperity.
When in 1367, Peter I, the King of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, made a tour through European capitals in search of support against the looming hazard of a massive military offensive by the Muslims, his fellow sovereigns accepted him with honors but provided no useful aide. The Doge of Venice, Marco Cornaro, and his very wealthy cousin, Federico, privately funded the king’s request. This move redounded to their acquiring rich estates in the Episkopi peninsula, near Limassol[2], along the south coast of the island. It also inaugurated a long-lasting relationship between the Cornaro and the Lusignan families. It was a twist of fate, perhaps, that the last monarch in the Lusignan dynasty was not a Frank per se but a Venetian who bore the name of Cornaro.
With the loss of Famagusta[3], the mainstay of the island’s economy[4], to the Genoese and the Mameluke[5] attacks that resulted in an annual tribute[6] to the Sultan of Egypt and drained the kingdom’s treasury, Lusignan’s ability to exercise control over all aspects of public life declined rapidly in the fifteenth century. The highlight of John II’s reign (1432-1458), which was marked by dissension and intrigue, was his marriage to Elena Palaeologina, the Byzantine emperor’s granddaughter. Queen Elena, a great heroine for the Cypriots and a dangerous enemy of the Franks, was stronger in character than her husband and took over the management of the kingdom, bringing Greek Orthodox faith and culture out of the oblivion in which it had languished after centuries of persecution.
In 1456, their daughter, Princess Charlotte, married Prince John of Coimbra who had been chosen by the Latin Church as Queen Elena’s rival. Friction soon broke out, and the prince took his wife away from the palace. Forthwith, the Knights Hospitaller, religious enemies of the queen, rebelled against her, causing fractious incidents in Nicosia that escalated into a violent affray. In reprisal, the queen’s trusted Royal Chamberlain incited the people to rise up against the prince, who was found dead a few days later. Seeking vengeance, Charlotte turned to her half-brother James, the king’s illegitimate son with Marietta from Patras, for assistance. James, who was only seventeen at the time and already the titular Archbishop of Nicosia, murdered the Royal Chamberlain. In an effort to repress potential uprisings and restore peace, the king deprived his son of the archbishopric. Fearing the queen’s rage, James absconded to Rhodes only to return five months later and kill several of his enemies in one night.
In 1458, both the queen and the king died within three months of each other, and Charlotte ascended the throne. James swore allegiance to his half-sister, but his enemies persuaded the queen that he was conniving to assassinate her. Fearing for his life, James fled to the Sultan of Egypt, a move that was interpreted as an imminent threat by the nobles in Charlotte’s Court. In 1459, Charlotte married the Duke of Savoy, and envoys were sent to the sultan to ensure his support. The sultan, however, decided in favor of James who returned to Cyprus followed by supporters and Mamelukes. People’s approval constantly grew, and soon, only Kyreneia, Charlotte’s seat, and Famagusta, ruled by the Genoese, resisted him. Charlotte fled Cyprus in quest of allies; nevertheless, her endeavors were to no avail. Eventually, Kyreneia capitulated in 1463.
When Andrea Cornaro, the Doge’s grandson, was accused of an alleged election scam in 1457, Marco Cornaro failed to denounce his younger brother, and the two were banished to Cyprus. On the one hand, this gave them the opportunity to fully devote themselves to their family enterprises and multiply their wealth. On the other hand, they were flirting with disgrace, and Marco’s political career was bruised. In the war of succession following the death of King John II, the Cornaro brothers shifted their aid from the lawful heiress to the king’s illegitimate son.
In 1464, James drove the Genoese out of Famagusta and united the whole island once again into a single kingdom. His prevailing was partly due to Andrea Cornaro’s support. In return, the young king appointed the preeminent Venetian patrician, who acted as his banker, his counselor and Auditor of the Kingdom. Notwithstanding his becoming the unquestionable ruler of Cyprus, the crown felt heavy on the young king’s head. With the threat of an invasion by the Ottoman Turks hanging over his kingdom like the sword of Damocles, James II, or the Bastard, promptly recognized the urgent need for a strong alliance. Marriage appeared to be an attractive means to this end.
The Cornaro brothers had great plans for the king’s marriage and their own future, but very few men in Venice were let in on them. Cavalier Marco Cornaro’s trusty friend and cousin, Captain Alexandro Zanetti, was one of them. With Andrea now in Nicosia[7] and Marco, who on occasions accomplished delicate diplomatic missions on behalf of the new king, back in Venice, and the recent death of their estate supervisor, the two brothers saw the need for a trustworthy man to run their family sugar mill and their large estates in their absence. They originally thought they had found this man in the person of their loyal cousin Alexandro, but he persuaded them to place their faith in his son Marin who would be equally devoted to them. What he might have lacked in experience, he would make up for with his enterprising spirit and diligence.
[1] After almost nine centuries of Byzantine Rule, Richard the Lionheart conquered Cyprus in 1191 and sold it to the Templar Knights. Unable to rule the island, they sold it back to Richard who then sold it to Guy de Lusignan, of Poitiers, France, in 1192.
[2] The Frankish name for Lemesos
[3] The Frankish name for Ammohostos, meaning hidden in the sand – in 1374
[4] ‘It is the richest of all cities and her citizens are the richest of men.’ (Ludolf von Suchen, De Terra Sancta, 1336) Indicative of its wealth was testimony that merchants’ daughters wore more jewels than kings at their coronations.
[5] Military caste in Muslim societies
[6] In 1426
[7] The Frankish name for Lefkosia
1 - Venice, 1467
Marin had a sleepless night anticipating the world of adventure that awaited him at dawn. His father, captain of a commercial galley and distant cousin of Cavaliers Marco and Andrea Corner, or better known in history as Cornaro, had arranged for twenty-one-year-old Marin to join Andrea in Cyprus. The young man had been traveling with the captain for several years now, but this voyage would be like no other. A new life full of prospects lay ahead if he were vigilant and scrupulous. His father’s words ‘Anything’s possible if you use your brain and work hard’ echoed in his ears.
At the first light of dawn, Marin put on his white wide-sleeved, low neckline linen shirt that was decorated with embroidery. He put on his hip-length tight-fitting Glaucous blue doublet that matched the color of his eyes. It belted at the waist, giving the impression of a short skirt below which was fashionable among the young men of his time. Its sleeves were full and puffy. Wearing a self-satisfied grin, he looked in the mirror at the long attenuated appearance his tight hose and thigh-boots gave him and smoothed his jet-black hair. Marin’s good looks had often won him young women’s affection in all ports of call.
He closed his trunk, donned his short gown, and picked up his hat. He cast one last glance around his chamber and looked out the window at the torrent and the lightning that lit up the threatening dark grey January sky for a fleeting moment. The water had risen perilously, and Venice seemed to be once more on the threshold of a deluge.
He told his servant to carry his trunk along with his father’s to the gondola tied up in the canal outside the house and slid into a seat at the breakfast table in the kitchen. He ignored the spicy ginger chicken and nibbled on some bread and Padua sausage, washing it down with some ale. His mother
asked a female servant to wake the children to bid their father and their brother farewell and sat at the table. It was a brief breakfast where words were best left unspoken whenever they were sailing to faraway lands.
When Marin got up to leave the table, his mother walked up to him. The fringed sleeves of her long burgundy velvet dress swished as she put her arms around him. She hid her face on his chest and bravely fought back the tears in her eyes. She then lifted her head and kissed him on the forehead.
“Make me proud, Marin!”
It was not her place to tell her husband not to travel in this weather or to cry out that she didn’t want her eldest son sent so far away from her. If there was anyone who understood her just by laying his eyes on her it was Marin. For years after giving birth to Marin, Anna Zanetti couldn’t conceive, and she had fully devoted herself to the upbringing of her only child in the long periods of her husband’s absence. She had no doubt that the captain, for whom she had the greatest esteem on account of his integrity, loved his wife, but he was a bit rough around the edges.
“Haven’t I always?” Marin asked.
His mother nodded, and the young man offered her a tender smile. He hated to think how long it would take before he saw his mother again. So many thoughts and emotions he wanted to share with her, but now was not the time. Instead, he kissed her on both cheeks and stepped outside discreetly to give his parents some privacy for their parting.
The night before, he had inadvertently overheard his mother pleading with his father to search out a farm in the countryside. His mother had been asking her husband to settle down for some time now, but that was the first time his father had consented - even if vaguely. “Soon,” flabbergasted Marin heard him promise. His father’s love had been the sea, or so he thought. Never had he envisioned the intrepid captain tied down to the land. The young man pondered how one’s life can take an entirely different course on account of a single decision.