Bucentaur

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This article is about the Venetian ships. For the 19th-century French ship, see French ship Bucentaure (1804).
Departure of the Bucentaur to San Nicolo on the Lido (c. 1768) by Francesco Guardi (1712–1793). In March 2008, this painting and another by Guardi, together worth £10 million, were seized in the UK by the police at the request of Italian authorities which alleged that they had been illegally exported from Italy.
Departure of the Bucentaur to San Nicolo on the Lido (c. 1768) by Francesco Guardi (1712–1793). In March 2008, this painting and another by Guardi, together worth £10 million, were seized in the UK by the police at the request of Italian authorities which alleged that they had been illegally exported from Italy.[1]
An anonymous miniature, Sbarco dal Bucintoro del doge Sebastiano Ziani al Convento della Carità (The Doge Sebastiano Ziani Disembarking from the Bucentaur for the Convent of Charity, 16th century)
An anonymous miniature, Sbarco dal Bucintoro del doge Sebastiano Ziani al Convento della Carità (The Doge Sebastiano Ziani Disembarking from the Bucentaur for the Convent of Charity, 16th century)

The bucentaur (pronounced [bjuːˈsɛntɔː], bew-SEN-tor) (bucintoro in Venetian) was the state galley of the doges of Venice. It was used every year on Ascension Day up to 1798 to take the doge out to the Adriatic Sea to perform the ceremony of wedding Venice to the sea.

Scholars believe there were four major barges, the first significant bucentaur having been built in 1311. The last and most magnificent of the historic bucentaurs made its maiden voyage in 1729 in the reign of Doge Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo. Depicted in paintings by Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, the ship was 35 m (110 ft) long and more than 8 m (26 ft) high. A two-deck floating palace, its main salon had a seating capacity of 90. The doge's throne was in the stern, and the prow bore a figurehead representing Justice with sword and scales. The barge was propelled by 168 oarsmen, and another 40 sailors were required to man it. The ship was destroyed in 1798 on Napoleon's orders to symbolize his victory in conquering Venice.

In February 2008, the Fondazione Bucintoro announced a €20 million project to rebuild the 1729 bucentaur. Work started on 15 March 2008 at the Arsenale shipyard and naval dock.

Contents

[edit] Origin of the name

The origin of the name bucintoro is obscure, but is believed to derive from the Venetian burcio, a traditional term for a lagoon vessel, and in oro, meaning covered in gold.[2] The term was Latinized in the Middle Ages as bucentaurus on the analogy of an alleged Greek word *βουκένταυρος (boukentauros) meaning "ox-centaur", from βους (bous, "ox") and κένταυρος (kentauros, "centaur"). The common supposition was that the name derived from a creature of a man with the head of an ox, a figure of which served as the galley's figurehead.[3] This derivation is, however, fanciful; the word *βουκένταυρος is unknown in Greek mythology,[3] and representations of the "figurehead" of the bucentaurs in fact depict the lion of St. Mark the Evangelist.[4]

The name "bucentaur" seems, indeed, to have been given to any great and sumptuous Venetian galley. Du Cange quotes from the chronicle of the Doge Andrea Dandolo (reigned 1343–1354): "... cum uno artificioso et solemni Bucentauro, super quo venit usque ad S. Clementem, quo jam pervenerat principalior et solemnior Bucentaurus cum consiliariis, &c [... with a well-wrought and stately Bucentaur, upon which he came to San Clemente, where a more important and more stately Bucentaur had already arrived with his advisors, etc. ...]".[4]

The earliest known depiction of a bucentaur, from Jacopo de' Barbari's Planta di Venezia (Map of Venice, 1500)
The earliest known depiction of a bucentaur, from Jacopo de' Barbari's Planta di Venezia (Map of Venice, 1500)

[edit] The vessels

Before the age of the bucentaurs, it is probable that for ceremonies in the Venetian Lagoon the doge was simply assigned a small galley from the Venetian naval fleet. As Venice's wealth increased due to its naval power, plans were made for a special ship to be built. This is evidenced by the promissioni – sacramental pledges spoken by the doges when they were sworn into office – of Reniero Zeno of 1252, Lorenzo Tiepolo of 1268 and Giovanni Soranzo of 1312 which mention the construction of a bucentaur in the Arsenale shipyard and naval depot.[5]

[edit] The 1311 bucentaur

Venetian scholars agree that four major barges were built.[2] While there are believed to have been earlier vessels, the bucentaur of 1311 is regarded as the first significant one, for on 17 August 1311 the promissione was amended to add the statement "quod Bucentaurus Domini ducis fiat per Dominium et teneatur in Arsenatu" ("... that a Bucentaur should be made for the Lord Doge for his rule, and it should be held in the Arsenale"). This was the first time that Venetian law had provided that the expense of building the bucentaur was to be borne by the public budget. The two-decked bucentaur had a tiemo (canopy) with two sections, one in purple velvet for the doge, the other in red velvet for Venetian nobles. The historian Marino Sanuto the Younger, in his work De origine, situ et magistratibus urbis Venetae (On the Origin, Site and Officials of the City of Venice), also described the ship as bearing a statue of Justice.[6]

The bucentaur was used not only for the Marriage of the Sea ceremony, but also for other state functions such as festivals celebrating the Virgin Mary and the bearing of newly crowned dogaressas (the wives of doges) to the Doge's Palace. On 6 May 1401, a law was passed to prohibit the doge from making private use of the bucentaur.[7]

Documents mention the construction of another bucentaur in 1449 larger than the 1311 one, but little is known about this vessel.[6] The earliest known image of a bucentaur appeared in Jacopo de' Barbari's monumental woodcut Planta di Venezia (Map of Venice) which was published in 1500. This work pictured a bucentaur afloat in the Arsenale without oars or decoration save for a large wooden statue of Justice on the fore quarterdeck.[5] A similar illustration was produced by Andrea Valvassore between 1517 and 1525.[6]

[edit] The 1526 bucentaur

On 10 May 1526, Marino Sanuto the Younger recorded that on "Ascension Day the serenissimo [the Most Serene One – the doge] went in the new bucintoro to wed the sea", adding that "it was a beautiful work, larger and wider than the other one".[5] The proportions and rich decoration of this Bucentaur, built in the reign of Doge Andrea Gritti, became the model for successive versions of the ship. It had two decks and 42 oars, and was adorned with figures of lions with a statue of Justice at the prow (preserved in the Museum of Naval History in Venice). The movable canopy of the vessel was covered with red fabric on the outside, and blue fabric with gold stars inside.[8]

This bucentaur was frequently referred to in Venetian chronicles. It was on the ship that on 15 July 1547 Henry II of France was conveyed with the doge down the Grand Canal to the Ca' Foscari where he stayed during his visit to Venice. The ship was also used to transport the newly crowned Dogaressa Morosina Morosini-Grimani to the Doge's Palace on 4 May 1597. This event was the subject of numerous etchings and paintings by Giacomo Franco, Andrea Vicentino, Sebastian Vrancsx and anonymous artists.[5][9]


Sebastian Vrancsx's Trionfo sul Bucintoro in Bacino San Marco di Morosina Morosini Grimani (The Triumphal Entry of Morosina Morosini-Grimani on the Bucentaur into St. Mark's Basin, 17th century)
Sebastian Vrancsx's Trionfo sul Bucintoro in Bacino San Marco di Morosina Morosini Grimani (The Triumphal Entry of Morosina Morosini-Grimani on the Bucentaur into St. Mark's Basin, 17th century)

[edit] The 1606 bucentaur

A bucentaur, from the Folger Shakespeare Library's copy of Giacomo Franco's Habiti d'hvomeni et donne venetiane (Dress of Venetian Men and Ladies, 1609?)
A bucentaur, from the Folger Shakespeare Library's copy of Giacomo Franco's Habiti d'hvomeni et donne venetiane (Dress of Venetian Men and Ladies, 1609?)[10]

Despite Venice's economic and maritime decline, in 1601 at the behest of the Doge Marino Grimani,[11] the Venetian Senate decided to have a new bucentaur built at the cost of 70,000 ducats; although the existing one was still in service, experts regarded it as too old. The designer of the new ship is unknown, but he was selected from among the most qualified marangoni (ships' carpenters) of the Arsenale.[5] The work was supervised by Marco Antonio Memmo, the sovraprovveditore (overseer of the provveditore) of the Arsenale.[11] The new vessel was approved and praised by all on its maiden voyage to the Lido with the newly elected Doge Leonardo Donato on Ascension Day, 10 May 1606.[5]

The third barge was modelled after its predecessors, its decorations influenced by late-Renaissance forms. Contemporary illustrations show that the sides of the bucentaur were covered by mythical figures of sirens riding seahorses, and that the loggias were supported by curved dolphins amongst intertwined garlands and scrollwork taking on the form of monstrous hydras extending from the ends of the two bow spurs. It was once believed that most of the wooden sculptures, including a large statue of Mars, two lions of St. Mark positioned on either side of the stern, and the figurehead of Justice (dressed in apparel made by the San Daniele Monastery),[11] were the work of the renowned Venetian sculptor Alessandro Vittoria, but research has revealed the names of the brothers Agostino and Marcantonio Vanini of Bassano who were praised as "authors of carvings of marvellous beauty".[5] After more than a century of service, in 1719 a decision was made to demolish the ship.[5]

A model of the bucentaur's figurehead in the Museum of Naval History in Venice
A model of the bucentaur's figurehead in the Museum of Naval History in Venice

[edit] The 1727 bucentaur

The last and most magnificent of the historic bucentaurs was commissioned by the Senate in 1719,[12] and the construction of it began in the Arsenale in 1722.[5] The ship was designed by Michele Stefano Conti,[13] the protomagistro dei marangoni (head master of the ships' carpenters). Wooden sculpting work was assigned to Antonio Corradini, as was testified by the phrase "Antonii Coradini sculptoris Inventum" ("invention of the sculptor Antonio Corradini") inscribed near the bow palmette. He was an established sculptor, having already worked on commissions in Austria, Bohemia and Saxony. The gilding, in pure gold leaf, was handled by one Zuanne D'Adamo. Some of the 1606 ship's ornaments and sculptures, including the statue of Mars and the two lions of St. Mark, were salvaged and reused.[5] The vessel was 35 m (110 ft) long and more than 8 m (26 ft) high. A two-deck floating palace, its main salon was covered in red velvet, had 48 windows set in a huge, elaborately carved baldacchino or canopy, and had a seating capacity of 90. The doge's throne was in the stern, and the prow bore the traditional figurehead representing Justice with sword and scales. The barge was propelled by 168 oarsmen rowing in teams of four on its 42 oars each 11 m (36 ft) in length; another 40 sailors were required to man it.[2] The new bucentaur made its début on Ascension Day 1729 in the reign of Doge Alvise III Sebastiano Mocenigo. The event was officially recorded, and the splendour of the vessel praised with sonnets and publications such as that by Antonio Maria Lucchini entitled La Nuova regia su l'acque nel Bucintoro nuovamente eretto all'annua solenne funzione del giorno dell'Ascensione di Nostro Signore (The New Palace upon the Waters of the Newly Built Bucentaur at the Annual Solemn Function of the Day of the Ascension of Our Lord, 1751).[5][14]

The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in his work Italienischen Reise (Italian Journey, 1816–1817) which was an account of his travels in Italy between 1786 and 1787, described the bucentaur on 5 October 1786 in these terms:

Um mit einem Worte den Begriff des Bucentaur auszusprechen, nenne ich ihn eine Prachtgaleere. Der ältere, von dem wir noch Abbildungen haben, rechtfertigt diese Benennung noch mehr als der gegenwärtige, der uns durch seinen Glanz über seinen Ursprung verblendet. ...

Ich komme immer auf mein Altes zurück. Wenn dem Künstler ein echter Gegenstand gegeben ist, so kann er etwas Echtes leisten. Hier war ihm aufgetragen, eine Galeere zu bilden, die wert wäre, die Häupter der Republik am feierlichsten Tage zum Sakrament ihrer hergebrachten Meerherrschaft zu tragen, und diese Aufgabe ist fürtrefflich ausgeführt. Das Schiff ist ganz Zierat, also darf man nicht sagen: mit Zierat überladen, ganz vergoldetes Schnitzwerk, sonst zu keinem Gebrauch, eine wahre Monstranz, um dem Volke seine Häupter recht herrlich zu zeigen. Wissen wir doch: das Volk, wie es gern seine Hüte schmückt, will auch seine Obern prächtig und geputzt sehen. Dieses Prunkschiff ist ein rechtes Inventarienstück, woran man sehen kann, was die Venezianer waren und sich zu sein dünkten.[15]

[In order to express the concept of the Bucentaur with one word, I call it a Prachtgaleere [magnificent galley]. The older one, of which we still have illustrations, justifies this designation even more than the present one, as we are dazzled by the glare of its origin. ...

I always return to my old theme. If a genuine object is given to the artist, then he can achieve something genuine. Here was laid on him the responsibility of constructing a galley worthy of carrying the heads of the Republic on the most solemn day to consecrate their traditional dominion over the sea, and this task is carried out excellently. The ship is itself an ornament; therefore one may not say that it is overloaded with ornaments, and only a mass of gilded carvings that are otherwise useless. In reality it is a monstrance, in order to show the people that their leaders are indeed wonderful. Nevertheless, we know this: the people, who are fond of decorating their hats, also want to see their betters in splendour and dressed up. This grandiose ship is quite an item of inventory and shows what the Venetians were and imagined themselves to be.]

In 1798, Napoleon ordered this bucentaur to be destroyed, less for the sake of its golden decorations than as a political gesture to symbolize his victory in conquering the city. The ship burned for three days, and French soldiers used 400 mules to carry away its gold.[16] The decorative elements of the vessel that survived the flames are preserved in the Museo Civico Correr in Venice, and there is a detailed scale model of the vessel in the Arsenale. The hull survived and, renamed the Hydra and armed with cannons, was stationed at the mouth of the Lido's port where it served as a coastal battery.[12] Subsequently, the ship was returned to the Arsenale and used as a prison ship[17][18] until it was entirely destroyed in 1824.[12]

[edit] Marriage of the Sea ceremony

Il ritorno del Bucintoro nel Molo il giorno dell'Ascensione (The Return of the Bucentaur to the Molo on Ascension Day, 1730) by Canaletto (1697–1768). Another painting of the same subject by Canaletto, Il Bucintoro al molo nel giorno dell'Ascensione (The Bucentaur at the Molo on Ascension Day), was purchased for £11.43 million by a mystery bidder at a Christie's auction in London on 6 July 2005.
Il ritorno del Bucintoro nel Molo il giorno dell'Ascensione (The Return of the Bucentaur to the Molo on Ascension Day, 1730) by Canaletto (1697–1768). Another painting of the same subject by Canaletto, Il Bucintoro al molo nel giorno dell'Ascensione (The Bucentaur at the Molo on Ascension Day), was purchased for £11.43 million by a mystery bidder at a Christie's auction in London on 6 July 2005.[19]

The "Marriage of the Adriatic", or more correctly "Marriage of the Sea" (in Italian, Sposalizio del Mare), was a ceremony symbolizing the maritime dominion of Venice. The ceremony, established about 1000 to commemorate the Doge Pietro II Orseolo's conquest of Dalmatia, was originally one of supplication and placation, Ascension Day being chosen as that on which the doge set out on his expedition. The form it took was a solemn procession of boats, headed by the doge's nave (ship), from 1311 the Bucentaur, out to sea by the Lido port. A prayer was offered that "for us and all who sail thereon the sea may be calm and quiet", whereupon the doge and the others were solemnly aspersed with holy water, the rest of which was thrown into the sea while the priests chanted "Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor" ("Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean" – Psalm 51:7).[20] To this ancient ceremony a quasi-sacramental character was given by Pope Alexander III in 1177, in return for the services rendered by Venice in the struggle against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. The pope drew a ring from his finger and, giving it to the doge, bade him cast such a one into the sea each year on Ascension Day, and so wed the sea. Henceforth the ceremonial, instead of placatory and expiatory, became nuptial. Every year the doge dropped a consecrated ring into the sea, and with the Latin words "Desponsamus te, mare" ("We wed thee, sea") declared Venice and the sea to be indissolubly one.[4]

[edit] Modern reconstruction

In February 2008, plans to rebuild the bucentaur destroyed in 1798 were announced. More than 200 shipbuilders, woodcarvers and jewellers started work on 15 March 2008 at the Arsenale.[16] It has been reported by the Italian press that it will take two years for the bucentaur to be constructed. However, Colonel Giorgio Paterno, the head of Fondazione Bucintoro which is behind the €20 million project, said in March 2008 that "[w]e'll build it as fast as we can but we're not in a hurry."[17] It is intended that the project will make use of traditional shipbuilding techniques[17] and original materials, including larch and fir wood, and will reproduce gold decorations. The foundation is supported by businessmen in the Veneto and Lombardy regions but has also written to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy for France to make a financial contribution as a goodwill gesture to compensate for Napoleon's "vandalism".[2]

Fondazione Bucintoro hopes that the vessel will become "the most visited floating museum in the world", but also sees the project as a means to "help Venice recover its former glory and its old spirit". According to Paterno, "Invaded by so many million tourists, the city risks losing its identity, losing its cultural connection with its own history. It's not enough to live in the future, the city needs to connect with and remember its glorious past."[17]


Cross-section of the proposed modern reconstruction, displayed in St. Mark's Square
Cross-section of the proposed modern reconstruction, displayed in St. Mark's Square
A photograph of a model of the Bucintoro by Italian photographer Carlo Naya (1816–1882)
A photograph of a model of the Bucintoro by Italian photographer Carlo Naya (1816–1882)

[edit] See also

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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Charlotte Higgins (2008-03-26), “Scotland Yard seizes £10m old masters”, The Guardian, <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2268029,00.html> .
  2. ^ a b c d Richard Owen (2008-02-23), “Nicolas Sarkozy urged to pay for Napoleon's 'vandalism' of golden barge”, The Times, <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3419798.ece> .
  3. ^ a b “bucentaur”, OED Online (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50028604>. Retrieved on 2008-04-07 .
  4. ^ a b c Hugh Chisholm, ed. (1910–1911), “Bucentaur”, The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, <http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Bucentaur> .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Warren McManus (transl.), History of the Bucentaurs, Gioielleria Dogale, <http://www.webjewels.it/Bucentaurs.html>. Retrieved on 28 February 2008 , a translation of an extract from G.B. Rubin de Cervin (1985), La flotta di Venezia: Navi e barche della Serenissima [The Venetian Fleet: Ships and Boats of the Venetian Republic], Milan: Automobilia, ISBN 8885058639 .
  6. ^ a b c La storia del Bucintoro: Bucintoro del 1311 [The History of the Bucentaur: The Bucentaur of 1311], Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/storia_bucintoro02.html>. Retrieved on 29 February 2008  (Italian).
  7. ^ La storia del Bucintoro [The History of the Bucentaur], Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/storia_bucintoro.html>. Retrieved on 29 February 2008  (Italian).
  8. ^ La storia del Bucintoro: Bucintoro del 1526 [The History of the Bucentaur: The Bucentaur of 1526], Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/storia_bucintoro03.html>. Retrieved on 1 March 2008  (Italian).
  9. ^ McManus, History of the Bucentaurs, states that the event took place on 4 May 1497. This appears to be an error, as the Dogaressa Morosina Morosini-Grimani lived from 1545 to 21 January 1614, and was crowned official consort in 1597 after her husband Marino Grimani's election as doge in 1595.
  10. ^ Giacomo Franco ([?1609]), Habiti d'hvomeni et donne venetiane: con la processione della ser[enissi]ma Signoria et altri particolari cioè trionfi feste cerimonie pvbliche della nobilissima città di Venetia [Dress of Venetian Men and Ladies: With the Procession of the Governors of the Most Serene Republic [i.e., Venice] and other Particulars, that is, Triumphal Entries, Feasts, [and] Public Ceremonies, of the Most Noble City of Venice], [Venice]: Forma in Frezaria al sol [[by] Forma in [the lane called] Frezaria at the [sign of the] sun]  (Italian) (see also the frontispiece and pp. 14, 26, 32, 44, 84 and 118 of the book).
  11. ^ a b c La storia del Bucintoro: Bucintoro del 1606 [The History of the Bucentaur: The Bucentaur of 1606], Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/storia_bucintoro04.html>. Retrieved on 1 March 2008  (Italian).
  12. ^ a b c La storia del Bucintoro: Bucintoro del 1727 [The History of the Bucentaur: The Bucentaur of 1727], Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/storia_bucintoro05.html>. Retrieved on 2 March 2008  (Italian).
  13. ^ Not to be confused with the Stefano Conti who was a patron of Canaletto, who painted the bucentaur on several occasions: see Francis Haskell (September 1956), “Stefano Conti, Patron of Canaletto and Others”, The Burlington Magazine 98 (642): 296–301, n. 3 .
  14. ^ Antonio Maria Lucchini (1751), La Nuova regia su l'acque nel Bucintoro nuovamente eretto all'annua solenne funzione del giorno dell'Ascensione di Nostro Signore, etc, Venice: [s.n.]  (Italian). An extract from the work appears as Antonio Maria Luchini: La nuova regia su l'acque nel Bucintoro nuovamente eretto, Fondazione Bucintoro, <http://www.fondazionebucintoro.org/images/Luchini.pdf>. Retrieved on 6 April 2008  (Italian).
  15. ^ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (November 2000), Italienischen Reise [Italian Journey, Etext #2404], Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg, <http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext00/8itr110.txt>  (German).
  16. ^ a b Malcolm Moore (2008-02-23 (online version updated 2008-02-26)), “Golden barge to resurrect Venice's glorious past”, The Daily Telegraph: 20, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/23/wvenice123.xml> .
  17. ^ a b c d Peter Popham (2008-03-27), “Venetian dream boat: Ship of fools sails again”, The Independent, <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/venetian-dream-boat-ship-of-fools-sails-again-801237.html> .
  18. ^ On rebuilding the Bucintoro, Fugitive Ink [blog], 2008-02-29, <http://fugitiveink.wordpress.com/2008/02/29/on-rebuilding-the-bucintoro/>. Retrieved on 26 March 2008 .
  19. ^ Sam Jones (2005-07-07), “Venetian painting by Canaletto sold for record £11.5m”, The Guardian, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/jul/07/arts.artsnews> ; Dalya Alberge (2005-07-07), “Mystery bidder pays record £11m for classic Canaletto”, The Times, <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article541306.ece> .
  20. ^ The full verse appears in the New International Version of the Bible thus: "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; / wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7.)

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] Articles

[edit] Books

  • Il Bucintoro di Venezia [The Bucentaur of Venice], Venice: [s.n.], 1837  (Italian and French).
  • Lucchini, Antonio Maria (1751), La Nuova regia su l'acque nel Bucintoro nuovamente cretto all'annua solenne funzione del giorno dell'Ascensione di Nostro Signore, etc. [The New Palace upon the Waters of the Newly Built Bucentaur at the Annual Solemn Function of the Day of the Ascension of Our Lord, etc.], Venice: [s.n.]  (Italian).

[edit] External links

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "Bucentaur", a publication now in the public domain.