Venice: City of Sin
Venice was in a state of decline during the 18th-century. It had flourished as one of the great port cities during the Renaissance, but that faltered after the important port towns moved to northern Europe for trade headed to the New World.
The problems in Venice did not affect its draw as a tourist destination though. Venice was the playground of the Grand Tour. Young British men came to this city to do what they could not do back home in Britain. Tourists came to enjoy the festivities during Carnival time, which lasted for about six months in the winter. The entertainment for this event included masquerades, dancing in the streets, and theater productions.
Masquerades in the streets of Venice.
Scenes of Venice were very famous, mostly because of the paintings by Canaletto. Hester Thrale Piozzi remarked on how familiar Venice was to her because of the works she had seen by the artist. Canaletto painted idyllic scenes of Venice, in which the sun always shone and the city was terminally clean and beautiful.
Canaletto painting of the Grand Canal.
British gentlemen came to Venice for the women. They lack respect for those women and often considered them in the same category as prostitutes. Thomas Broderick, in his Travels (1754) stated, "At Venice one hardly sees the face of a woman that one may not have if one has a mind to it. You are not to suppose, from this that all the Venetian women are whores, but whores are the only women at Venice who suffer one to see their faces". This perception of Venetian women has no basis in how they actually led their lives. Venetian women, like most Italian women led very sheltered lives. Noble ladies were usually placed in convents at very early ages for their educations. They remained in those convents until they married. The idea of the lustful Venetian woman may have come from the tradition of the extravagant Courtesans, however, the grandness of the Courtesans was in decline at this time.
Image Sources:
Black and white masquerade (Vaussard 176).
Color masquerade (Gay 94).
Canaletto's Grand Canal (Kleiner).