The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as the Banner or Standard of Saint Mark (''stendardo di San Marco''), was the symbol of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, until its

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in 1797. Its main

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

was the

Lion of Saint Mark The Lion of Saint Mark, representing Mark the Evangelist, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is an aspect of the Tetramorph. On the pinnacle of St Mark's Cathedral he is depicted as holding a Bible, and surmounting a golden lion which is ...

, symbolizing Mark the Evangelist, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. A distinguishing feature of the flag is its six fringes, which were added to represent the original six

sestiere A (plural: ) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from (‘sixth’), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the ''sestieri'' of Venice, but Ascoli Piceno, Genoa, Mi ...

of Venice. The fringes also serve to prevent damage being caused to the central section of the flag by wind. During times of peace, the Lion of Saint Mark was depicted alongside an open book. However, when the Republic was at war the Bible was replaced with the lion grasping an upright sword. During the corteo Dogale (), four banners of Saint Mark with different background colours, white, purple, blue, and red, were carried, with the one in front representing the state of the republic at that time (at peace, in a truce, in an alliance, at war, respectively). When at war, the war version of the Lion of Saint Mark was used. The flag inspired the modern Flag of Veneto region in Italy.

History

It is unclear as to when the Republic officially adopted the flag. One chronicler, John the Deacon, described how in 998 Doge Pietro Orseolo II was presented with a "''triumphale vexillum''" (triumphal banner) before leading a naval expedition against the Narentines, pirates who moored off the eastern coast of the Adriatic and harassed Venetian seamen. However, this chronicle does not explicitly mention the use of the Lion of St. Mark within the flag or mention the colours used upon the banner. The first recorded use of the Lion of St. Mark on a red field by the Venetians dates back to the late thirteenth century. Genoese archivist

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine (c. 123013/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the medi ...

makes reference to the Lion of St. Mark as the official symbol for Venice. He also mentions how the phrase "PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEUS" was found on the flag. The winged lion was chosen as a symbol of Venice due to its connotations with

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Acco ...

. Venetian tradition states how Saint Mark was travelling from Aquileia to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

when an Angel appeared whilst he was in the lagoon of Venice and stated '''Pax tibi, Marce, evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum (Peace be with thee, O Mark, my evangelist. Here thy body will rest). The legend was used in 828 by Venetian merchants Rustico da Torcello and Bon da Malamocco to justify their journey to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

to return the corpse of Saint Mark to Venice and inter it within the city. From that moment Saint Mark became the patron saint of Venice and thus began the association between the city and the winged lion. Vexillologist

Whitney Smith Whitney Smith Jr. (February 26, 1940 – November 17, 2016) was a professional vexillologist and scholar of flags. He originated the term ''vexillology'', which refers to the scholarly analysis of all aspects of flags. He was a founder of s ...

suggests that the colours chosen, red and gold, were selected on the basis that they were the colours of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, the previous rulers of the region. For 337 years 12 Gonfalonieri, mercenaries from

Perast Perast ( cnr, Пераст) is an old town in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History According to the pr ...

(modern day

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

), were appointed by the

Venetian senate The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

to guard the flag of the Republic at all times on the pain of death. 8 were executed in 1571 after the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

for failing to protect it. Following the

fall of the Republic of Venice The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria. In 1796, the young general Napoleo ...

in May 1797 by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the Lion of Saint Mark was suppressed throughout Venice. As a result, the traditional flag of the Republic of Venice was abolished and replaced with two equal horizontal bands of blue on top of yellow. The last place where the flag was used as a symbol of the Republic was Perast, in

Venetian Albania Venetian Albania ( vec, Albania vèneta, it, Albania Veneta, Serbian and Montenegrin: Млетачка Албанија / ''Mletačka Albanija'', ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adria ...

, a town faithful to Venice. Perast continued to celebrate its loyalty to Venice for several months by continuing to fly the flag. On 23 August 1797, the Austrian navy arrived in the town and the Banner of St. Mark was hauled down for the last time. Captain Joko Viskovich made a speech in the local language, stating “''The history of this day will be known throughout all Europe, how Perast has maintained, with dignity, to the very end, the honour of the Venetian flag, honouring it with this solemn act, lowering it to the ground, bathed in our universal and bitter tears''’. Usage of the Lion of Saint Mark in the flag of Venice would not return until 1848, when it appeared in the canton of the flag of the

Republic of San Marco A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

Modern usage

The flag enjoys continued usage throughout the city of Venice. It can be found flying from the balconies of homes, hotels, and government offices. Some residents of the city also elect to fly the flag as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

from the stern of private boats, whilst some gondoliers choose to attach the flag to their

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...

. On some occasions, the flag of the Republic of Venice flies atop a flagpole outside St. Mark's Basilica in

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

. Even if it is not the flag of the Veneto region, it is preferred by people and institutions across the entire region because of its symbolic meaning of the unity of Venetian people and the historic heritage of the Republic of Venice. The flag can be seen in many other cities as Verona and Treviso, but it is used in some towns from

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...

too, once under the rule of Venice. The Venetian people tend to recognize themselves in this flag, which has become the true symbol of their unity. Usage of the flag has also been adopted as a symbol by some claiming to represent the Venetian regionalist movement. The flag of the Republic of Venice appears alongside the flag of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, the Cross of Pisa, and the flag of the Republic of Amalfi on the ensign of the Italian navy.

Gallery

Historical flags of the Municipalitiy File:Flag of Venice (1879).svg, (1879–1942) File:Flag of Venice (1942).svg, (1942–1945 ''de facto''; 1997 ''de jure'') File:Flag of the Republic of Venice.svg, (1922 ''de facto'' – 1997 ''de facto'') File:Flag of Venice (1997).svg, (1997–present) Historical flags of the Republic File:Flag of the Republic of Venice (Mid-14th century).svg, The flag with a red lion on a white field from the portolan chart attributed to A. Dulcert (mid-14th cent.) File:Flag of the Republic of Venice.svg, The

war flag A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few count ...

of the

, showing the

holding a sword File:Flag of Venice.png, The Peace flag of the

, showing the

holding a bible File:Flag of Republic of Venice (1659-1675).svg, Official flag of the Republic of Venice used by the Doge Domenico Contarini File:Flag of the Republic of Venice 1848–49.svg, Flag of the

Additional images

File:Venice flag.jpg, A modern-day replica of the flag flown from a balcony in Venice File:Venezia-DSCF9899.JPG File:Giovanni Antonio Canal, il Canaletto - The Bucintoro Returning to the Molo on Ascension Day - WGA03887.jpg,

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

(1730) - The venetian flag on the Bucintoro

History

Modern usage

Gallery

Additional images

References

Further reading