The 2022 lecture series on Venice will continue our exploration into the future and the past of this very special city.
Wednesday, March 30 at 2:00 PM via Zoom
The Siege of Venice
By Jonathan Keates
Here is Venice in summer, but there are no tourists. A red flag is flying from the campanile of St Mark's, while across the empty piazza small boys are racing to snatch up hot pieces of shrapnel. Under the arcades of the Doge's Palace, a crowd of bombed-out mothers are huddled, feeding their babies. The city is shuddering to the continuous impact of mortar bombs and howitzer shells. Last night, the volunteer firemen put out more than 60 fires. Yesterday, nearly 250 Venetians died of cholera. Florian's, the great café on the piazza, is serving 'patriotic bread' made out of maize flour and crushed beans. This is Venice in the summer of 1849, under siege by Habsburg armies.
(When Venice rocked the boat, The Observer History Book)
Wednesday, March 30 at 2:00 PM via Zoom
The Siege of Venice
By Jonathan Keates
Here is Venice in summer, but there are no tourists. A red flag is flying from the campanile of St Mark's, while across the empty piazza small boys are racing to snatch up hot pieces of shrapnel. Under the arcades of the Doge's Palace, a crowd of bombed-out mothers are huddled, feeding their babies. The city is shuddering to the continuous impact of mortar bombs and howitzer shells. Last night, the volunteer firemen put out more than 60 fires. Yesterday, nearly 250 Venetians died of cholera. Florian's, the great café on the piazza, is serving 'patriotic bread' made out of maize flour and crushed beans. This is Venice in the summer of 1849, under siege by Habsburg armies.
(When Venice rocked the boat, The Observer History Book)
Jonathan Keates is a London-based art historian, writer and cultural journalist.
Since 2012, he has been the Chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund, a Private Committee founded at the same time as the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia in 1966. He was born in Paris, France, and was educated at the University of Oxford. He has written a number of acclaimed biographies and travel books, and his works of fiction have also received critical acclaim, most notably “Allegro Postillions”, for which he was awarded both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Hawthornden Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He speaks Italian, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. In recognition of his support and promotion of Italian culture he was awarded the Ordine della Stella d’Italia in 2017.
Since 2012, he has been the Chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund, a Private Committee founded at the same time as the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia in 1966. He was born in Paris, France, and was educated at the University of Oxford. He has written a number of acclaimed biographies and travel books, and his works of fiction have also received critical acclaim, most notably “Allegro Postillions”, for which he was awarded both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Hawthornden Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He speaks Italian, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. In recognition of his support and promotion of Italian culture he was awarded the Ordine della Stella d’Italia in 2017.
