AP+Gasparo+Contarini’s+The+Commonwealth+and+Government+of+Venice

Gasparo Contarini's The Commonwealth and Government of Venice Amber George: AIM

Contarini's main aim of //Theand Government of Venice// was not only to show the uniqueness and importance of the government of Venice, but also to inform the people of its successful functions, and why it has been so successful as a government. Contarini believes that it offers "rationality, order, and the rule of law that made it impossible for one man to exercise arbitrary or tyrannical power" (Gleason). The "rationality" and "order" helps keep the government organized, and function for longer and more beneficial amount of time. It also helps bring in a sense of realism to the job of the government; instead of acting in an irrational or impossible manner, it focuses as a system to be successful in the most efficient way possible. Contarini also sets out to show the audience the "rule of law" that helps the city be equal in power. In his essay he argues that the government has set out to "end that the whole manner of thefe civile judgments may be made manifeft and plain", whether it be "Auditors" or "judges" (Contarini). He is showing that with a rule of power there is no one person or faction that stands higher than another. With equal faction and division, Venice is able to keep "judgments" from the system, helping to run more smoothly and successfully. Contarini's point was to show his audience the benefits of the Venice government, and to demonstrate its functions that have made it so unique and successful.

Works Cited: Contarini, Gasparo. //The Commonwealth and Government of Venice//. London: Hand and Plow in Fleetstreet, 1599. Print.

Gleason, Elisabeth G. Gasparo Contarini: Venice, Rome, and Reform. Berkely: University of California Press, 1993. Print.

Rofida Khairalla: CULTURAL

Gasparo Contarini’s inspiration for writing //The Commonwealth and Government of Venice//, was rooted in a myriad of cultural transitions taking place during the time period he lived in. While there were a vast majority of issues with the church, Contarini advocated for reform and asked the Lutherans and Catholics set aside their differences in order to strengthen the culture of Venice. Another major cultural transition was that of landward expansion, which became a popular concept around the 1500’s. According to Elisabeth G. Gleason, author of //Gasparo Contarini: Venice, Rome, and Reform//, “On the contrary, he paints an idealized picture of Venetian expansion that reconciles it with his theme of Venice as the perfect commonwealth” (Gleason 118). The cultural concept of landward “expansion” made Contarini feel that Venice had a great deal of “commonwealth”. “Commonwealth” was especially important during such a period of time because it made a country appear culturally rich. Contarini also praised the Venetian government because it did not allow for factionalism to occur, which he argued was a benefit to the people.

Work Cited Gleason, Elisabeth G. //Gasparo Contarini: Venice, Rome, and Reform.// Berkely: University of California Press, 1993. Print.

Ally Barton: AUDIENCE

The main audience for the //Commonwealth and Government of Venice// by: Contarini focuses around the government in Venice because this book is mainly about how the Venetian government is balanced. It states that “Others exceedingly admired the wonderful concourfe of strange and forraine people, yea of the fartheft and the remoteft nations as though the City of //Venice// onely were a common and generall market to the whole world” (Contarini). He states that the “City of //Venice//” is a general marke to the whole world. The audience for this book is the government of Venice because it will continue to serve as there bylaws and rules to follow and what their government believes in when it comes to how the government should be balanced and ran.

Work CIted Contarini, Gasparo. //The Commonwealth and Government of Venice//. London: Hand and Plow in Fleetstreet, 1599. Print.

Paige Wellman: HISTORICAL The Commonwealth and Government of Venice by Gasparo Contarini glorifies the Venetian government by expressing the greatness of Venice throughout the text. Contarini uses his own idealistic thoughts to depict the government as thriving and stable. Part of the reason that //The Commonwealth and Government of Venice// makes Venice’s government sound so defining is because of the civil laws. Paula Findlen emphasized the peacefulness of Venice by saying, “between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries the republic of Venice created a powerful empire that controlled much of the Mediterranean. Situated at the imaginary boundary between East and West, the Venetians established a thriving merchant republic that allowed many social groups, religions, and ethnicities to coexist within its borders.” Contarini applauded Venice for being so welcoming and noble within their government. Geraldo U. de Sousa noted that Contarini’s worked influenced Shakespeare to portray Venice in a more negative sense by showing its divided side. Contarini states that Venice has “justice as pure and uncorrupt” while Shakespeare debates in //Othello// that it is a partition place to live (Geraldo U. de Sousa). //The Commonwealth and Government// //of Venice// expresses Venice’s history as honorable and principled while still influencing writers to debate the praise that was written.

Findlen, Paula. “Heretics, Prostitutes and Merchants: The Venetian Empire.” Stanford.edu. n.p. 2 Nov. 2002. 5 Jan. 2012.

Sousa, Geraldo U de. //At Home in Shakespeare's Tragedies.// England:Ashgate Publishing//,// 1988. Print.