Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/163

Rh HISTORY.] VENICE 145 of Ravenna in 1512 and that of Marignano in 1515 changed the whole aspect of affairs ; new combinations were formed; and the treaty of Noyon restored to the republic all the continental territory she had lost. F with Nevertheless the commonwealth was not allowed to rest, but was compelled henceforth to live constantly on the cs- defensive, on the one hand against the Turks, who were a standing menace, and on the other, watching every move ment and enterprise of the Italian princes, who would not suffer her to remain neutral in their incessant conflicts. Neither under Pius V. nor under Philip II. was the com bined assistance of the pope and the Catholic king of much assistance to Venice against Islam. From the peace of Noyon (1516) to the year 1571, the date of the battle of Lepanto, the republic was never able for a single moment to lay down her arms, but was constantly driven to renewed efforts, which could not fail to exhaust her more and more. One by one she lost all her colonies : at one time it was Corfu, at another the islands of the ^Egean, at another Nauplia and Malvasia. Her podestas, proveditori, and ambassadors in their several departments displayed an energy and a patriotism to which there are few parallels in history : the names of Bragadin and of Marc Antonio Barbara remain as abiding examples of disinterestedness and patriotic self-sacrifice. Bom for the service of the state, her nobles were held bound to devote their energies to the republic from early manhood, and to give her the benefit of their strength and experience to their latest breath. About 1570 the Turks threatened the fleets of the Christian powers which ventured into the Adriatic ; and the pirates of the Barbary coasts boarded the Christian galleys and carried their crews into captivity, where they were held at heavy ransom. The Spaniards, whose sway then extended to the African coast of the Mediterranean, were determined to put an end to these incursions; the popes for their part were always ready to do battle with the infidel and to league themselves against the enemies of Christendom ; and Venice, who saw her colonial pos sessions falling from her one by one, could not refuse an alliance which seemed to promise the possibility of strik ing a grand blow by which her supremacy might be re stored. On 13th May 1571 the treaty of alliance between the three powers was signed ; the league against the Otto mans was to be perpetual, and its avowed object was to destroy their influence. Philip II. agreed to pay half the expenses of the expedition ; the republic supplied galleys to the pope ; Spain contributed her fleets and demanded in return the chief command of the expedition. The total naval force numbered no less than 300 vessels, while the troops embarked were reckoned at 50,000 foot soldiers and 5000 horse. Don John of Austria represented Spain in the command ; the papal forces were entrusted to Marc Antonio Colonna ; while the Venetian senate nominated Sebastian Ltle of Venieri to be its admiral. The result of the battle of r&amp;gt;anto. Lepanto, 7th October 1571 (see vol. xiii. p. 717), was ap parently the complete destruction of Turkey s naval forces. But the mutual jealousies of the allied powers served to counteract the effects of the victory, and the peace which followed, instead of being advantageous to the victors, turned out much to their prejudice. The action at Lepanto had taken place in the beginning of winter ; it was impos sible, therefore, to undertake anything further before the spring of the following year (1572), and each of the powers believed its fleets secure in the ports where they had taken refuge, when, on the following May, the tidings reached Venice that the Turkish fleet which had been supposed annihilated was once more afloat. Don John had wintered at Messina; Colonna had returned to Civita Vecchia; while the Venetian fleet had cast anchor off Corfu. Before the scattered allies could reunite sixty Turkish galleys ad vanced through the archipelago and devastated the Venetian colonies. The Spaniards at Messina awaited the decision of Philip II. before they could set sail ; the knights of Malta and the duke of Savoy, less hesitating, consented to join the Venetian galleys, and to go to meet the Moslems, whom they encountered at Cerigo. A battle of doubtful issue was about to be engaged in, when a message from Don John announced the co-operation of the Spanish fleet, but at Corfu, whither the Venetian admiral was requested to repair in order to concert a new plan of attack. The Venetians did not feel certain enough of success to warrant them in commencing hostilities without their ally, and, sailing for Corfu, they once more entrusted the supreme direction of affairs to Don John. But it is easy to under stand how disastrous in their results such vacillation and hesitancy must necessarily be. It was not till the end of August that the allied forces, once more brought together to the number of more than 250 vessels, set sail in search of the Turkish fleet. The latter, being lighter, gave way before the enemy, and, avoiding a pitched battle, did not give opportunity even for a skirmish or the capture of a stray prize. Meanwhile the winter was approaching; navigation was becoming dangerous ; the Spaniards were indisposed for action ; and Don John, alleging the gravity of his responsibilities, returned to his anchorage at Messina. Thus a whole year had been lost, giving to the enemy daily opportunities of recuperation. Every day new differ ences and mutual recriminations arose among the allies, and at length the idea of a peace with the Turks began to be broached in the councils of the republic. Such a pro posal, however unlocked for, was suggested by considera tions of the most practical kind, and by a just appreciation of the resources of the Ottoman empire ; and the resulting negotiations, which were secretly conducted, led to a treaty being signed on 15th March 1573. By that treaty twenty years of peace were guaranteed to the republic ; but it reversed the position of parties, and the vanquished of Lepanto now figured as victors. The Turks in fact were audaciously exacting, but their negotiations were ably con ducted and were completely successful. The one place which they had lost, Sopoto, was restored to them, and Venice also consented to the definitive cession of Cyprus, which had temporarily fallen into her hands before Lepanto. Nor was this all : it was not forgotten that Venice was tributary to the sultan ; her dues were doubled and a war indemnity of 300,000 ducats was stipulated for. On the other hand, the commercial privileges hitherto enjoyed by the republic were confirmed, and the freedom of the seas was guaranteed. The epoch of Lepanto is, however, the most brilliant in Venetian history as regards the efflorescence of the arts and of literature ; it was at this time that the artistic glory of the city was seemingly most brilliant arid most developed, and exercised the greatest attraction for strangers. More closely viewed, the 15th century had attained in Venice and the subject cities of the mainland a higher degree of culture ; architecture, painting, sculpture, and the minor arts were inspired by a sentiment deeper, more sincere, more elevated both in form and in idea ; but the artists who arose between the middle of the 15th and the close of the 16th century had a natural disposition, with a touch of the sensual, better corresponding with the tastes of the people and with its artistic ideal, which aroused a greater enthusiasm and made their names more famous. In literature and art Venice was the link between Italy Arts and and Greece. Its Eastern colonists learned the Greek lltera - tongue ; and the fall of the Greek empire brought to them ure its banished men of science and letters, who taught in their university and introduced to the Venetians the works of the ancients. Guarino of Verona opened to them Xeno- XXIV. 19