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By Chris HolmeWe tend to think of Venice in terms of overcrowding by hordes of tourists.But the visitors started coming in numbers 400 years ago – students, diplomats, thrill-seekers, art lovers, traders and general ne’er do wells. Religion had fuelled the rise in foreign travel in the medieval period – largely through pilgrimages to holy places. It also had significant role in the modern era and the start of the Grand Tour in Europe . James VI’s accession to the English throne in 1603 ushered in more active engagement with the rest of Europe developing his aspiration of a “community of ideas” between nations.In 1604 the first embassy that can truly be called “British” was established in Venice – at that time a hugely significant economic power with its trading links with the Orient known as the bulwark of Christendom after its decisive role in defeating the Ottoman fleet at Lepanto in 1571.The first ambassador was seasoned traveller Sir Henry Wotton. In 1601 he arrived in Scotland from Italy on a top secret mission posing as an Italian, Octavio Baldi, an emissary of the Duke of Florence, with news of a plot to assassinate James and some antidotes for potential poisons. The king was so impressed he invited Wotton to stay on at the court in Stirling for three months – still keeping his Italian disguise.We have it easy now – hop on a plane and two hours later arrive at Marco Polo airport. Travellers like Wotton in the early 1600s faced an overland journey of several weeks so perilous that wagers were made on the likelihood of a safe return.Surprisingly perhaps, Venice is much less crowded now (with a resident population of 60,000) than it was then with more than 120,000 living in the city.The key to enjoying any visit is get off the terrible tourist trail from the railway station to St Mark’s Square. The real Venice awaits discovery when you turn off and explore the back streets and waterways. It is so little changed in 400 years that it is quite easy to see it as those first tourists did.Another surprise is that they probably knew more about the city than we do. Venice had a central place in popular Jacobean culture not just through Shakespeare but also Ben Johnson’s Volpone, which used the character of Sir Politic Wouldbe (largely modelled on Wotton) to satirise contemporary Englishmen who had gone native in Italy.Not quite in the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide class, but there were also early traveller guides written by scribblers such as Lanark-born William Lithgow. He delighted in chance meetings with fellow countrymen en route – such as another Scot climbing Mount Etna or a ship’s captain from Glasgow.Venice also was a magnet for sinners. It was celebrated for its courtesans who gained many clients among foreign visitors. Lithgow describes his meetings with some of them in purely platonic (and not entirely convincing) terms.By 1612, Venice had become so popular that the ambassador noted it was common to see respectable women as tourists.For many the attractions of St Mark’s Square and Basilica were a powerful draw, even if some of their treasures were treasures looted in the Fourth Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople.It is difficult to overstate the impact on travellers of the “beauty of holiness” they could experience in Italy and France. Two generations earlier , the Reformation had swept away much of the aesthetic, liturgical and architectural fabric of worship in both Scotland and England. Venice was a treasure trove – fabulous churches with everyday canvasses or frescoes from Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese.As a Catholic republic its relationship with Rome was intriguing. Venice was more than willing to square up to Rome if the Pope overstepped into affairs of the state. The Inquisition was unique in Venice because the government insisted on having its own lay assessors on it to keep an eye on things.A major crisis loomed after the arrest of two clerics in 1605 which prompted the Pope to place Venice and all its citizens under interdict.Ambassador Wotton became excited and had notions that Venice might even become Protestant. Henry IV of France brokered a settlement and the interdict was lifted in April 1607. His chaplain William Bedell developed close links with the republic’s advisor, Paolo Sarpi, a true Renaissance man - Servite friar, philosopher, scientist and historian. Henry IV of France brokered a settlement and the interdict was lifted in April 1607. But Pope Paul V exacted his revenge – a band of assassins (including a Scot, according to Jan Morris) ambushed Sarpi on a bridge near the Campo Santa Fosco in October 1607, not far from where his statue now stands.Despite multiple dagger wounds, Sarpi survived. King James, mindful of the recent Gunpowder Plot, paid a particular interest in his recovery.A key part of Wotton’s role was to monitor important visitors, particularly those who might convert to Catholicism. Among these was Toby Matthew, son of the Archbishop of York, a cheery soul who later worked as a guide for travellers in Venice and Padua.Lithgow’s constant fear of Popish plots didn’t prevent him from enjoying his stay at Padua Unviersity with the Scottish Catholic mathematician John Wedderburn, who studied under Galileo.But there could be darker consequences. John Mole, tutor to Lord Roos was arrested by the Inquisition in Rome for possessing heretical texts. He spent the rest of his life in jail prompting later warnings from the ambassador in Venice not to travel further south for “fear of the Molecatchers.”Two must sees for any visitor (and not just for the names they brought to our language) are the Arsenale and the Ghetto. Although guarded a bit officiously by the Italian Navy, you can still get an idea of the awesome scale of the Arsenale – it was the largest industrial complex in Europe then, capable of building and rigging a galley within a week.The Ghetto is stunning in so many ways and plans are under way to celebrate its 500th anniversary next year. Several synagogues bear witness to the waves of Jewish immigrants who sought shelter in Venice.Bedell’s ecumenism was based on his friendship with various rabbis as well as translating the Book of Common Prayer into Italian. The Ghetto used to be closed at night with non-Jewish guards to keep people in - now there is a watch post inside to guard against threats from outside.Everyone takes back memories from Venice. But those travellers profoundly shaped the course of British life – architecture through Inigo Jones, political thought via Thomas Hobbes and medicine through William Harvey and his first proof of the circulation of blood.As for Wotton, he got over the temporary disgrace of his unguarded definition of an ambassador’s role was to go abroad to lie for his country. He returned to the company of his pals Izaak Walton and John Donne and retired as Provost of Eton College.Chris Holme travelled to Venice with Riviera Travel which offers tours of the hidden Venice by local guides and direct flights from Edinburgh. ................
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