The dogaressas of Venice (the wives of the doges) by Edgcumbe Staley
"The dogaressas of Venice (the wives of the doges)" by Edgcumbe Staley is a historical account written in the early 20th century. It explores the lives, legends, and public influence of Venice’s first ladies, situating them within the city’s rituals, pageantry, fashions, and faith, and showing how women helped shape Venetian society and its crafts. The opening of the book sets the stage with a preface claiming a first English telling of
the dogaressas’ story, noting scarce portraits, and crediting sources such as Molmenti and Hazlitt while highlighting the dogaressas’ patronage of Venetian guilds. An illustrated introduction casts Venice as “City of Venus” (mythic sea-born origins and lagoon geography), “City of Saints” (fervent cult of relics, including St. Mark), and “City of Fair Women” (beauty ideals, bathing, perfumes, hair-lightening on rooftop altane, and ornate coiffure and fans). The narrative then moves to early Venice amid invasions, telling spirited legends of heroines, the refugee settlement of the lagoons, and the formation of communal rule; it sketches the first doges and the first formal dogaressa, follows Agnello Partecipazio’s engineering of Rialto and early San Marco, and describes courtship and marriage customs, the Festa delle Marie born from a rescue of abducted brides, and the “boccola” red-rose love token. It closes this opening section by turning to the powerful Candiano line, signaling forthcoming dynastic episodes. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Staley, Edgcumbe, 1845-1903 |
|---|---|
| Title | The dogaressas of Venice (the wives of the doges) |
| Original Publication | New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1910?. |
| Credits | Hannah Wilson, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DG: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Italy, Vatican City, Malta |
| Subject | Venice (Italy) -- Social life and customs |
| Subject | Venice (Italy) -- Dogaressas |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78047 |
| Release Date | Feb 26, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 5575 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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