ÌÇÐÄTV

On 31st March at 18:00, — a ÌÇÐÄTV Alumnus, Marie Curie Global Fellow based at the University of Padova, and Honorary Fellow of the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance— will give a public lecture at the ÌÇÐÄTV Venice Centre titled 'Venetian Heroes at Lepanto: Epic Poetry, Lay Martyrdom and the Self-Fashioning of the Serenissima Republic' The talk will be followed by a response by Maria Chiara Ranzolin (incoming ÌÇÐÄTV PhD student) and a small reception.

Abstract: This paper examines the complex interplay of literary tradition, religious fervour, and civic identity in early modern Venice. It focuses on the literary construction of the heroes and martyrs of the Battle of Lepanto (1571) in Venetian epic poetry from the late sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, with particular attention to Sebastiano Venier, admiral of the Venetian fleet at Lepanto, and Marcantonio Bragadin, governor of the Cypriot city of Famagusta, who was killed by the Turks during their assault and capture of the city prior to the naval battle.

In the decades following Lepanto, Venetian artistic and literary production increasingly highlighted figures of heroism and lay martyrdom, such as Venier and Bragadin, respectively, portraying citizens who sacrificed themselves for the Republic and the Christian faith as exemplary milites christiani (Christian soldiers). This formed part of a broader ideological strategy – of which epic narratives were a key component – through which Venice sought to present itself as the perfect Christian republic.

Although Venetian epics rarely focus exclusively on the naval battle, they consistently invoke Lepanto’s protagonists to reinforce this image of Venetian power and moral authority. By analysing these aspects of Venetian epic narratives on Lepanto, the paper demonstrates the role Venetian heroes and lay martyrs played in the Republic’s self-representation. It further argues that the revival of martyr figures in late-Renaissance Venetian epic was influenced both by Counter-Reformation ideology and by the emulative reception of major epic literary authorities, including Ariosto’s Orlando furioso and Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata.

The event is co-sponsored by the ÌÇÐÄTV Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and is part of our One World ÌÇÐÄTV celebrations. If you would like to join us, please RSVP to venice@warwick.ac.uk

The talk and response will take place in English. Questions and discussion in both English and Italian are welcome.
La lezione si svolgerà in lingua Inglese. Le domande e la discussione possono essere sia in Inglese che in Italiano.