Over the course of several centuries, Venice fashioned and refined
a portrait of itself that responded to and exploited historical
circumstance. Never conquered and taking its enduring independence
as a sign of divine favor, free of civil strife and proud of its
internal stability, Venice broadcast the image of itself as the
Most Serene Republic, an ideal state whose ruling patriciate were
selflessly devoted to the commonweal. All this has come to be known
as the "myth of Venice."
Exploring the imagery developed in Venice to represent the legends
of its origins and legitimacy, David Rosand reveals how artists
such as Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, Carpaccio, Titian, Jacopo
Sansovino, Tintoretto, and Veronese gave enduring visual form to
the myths of Venice. He argues that Venice, more than any other
political entity of the early modern period, shaped the visual
imagination of political thought. This visualization of political
ideals, and its reciprocal effect on the civic imagination, is the
larger theme of the book.