It's 65 degrees here! Well, ok, maybe not. I wish. Overnight was one of the coldest nights of the year. But, it's supposed to warm up to the mid-twenties by tomorrow. yay.
Rhonda made some brownies last night, and John just loves brownies. For a snack he asked "more brownie? more brownie?"
history nugget of the day:
In the 14th century, the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice sprawled across 80 acres and employed 16,000 men, yet Europe's largest industrial complex was a well-kept secret to all but a few. High-walled and constantly patrolled from 12 watchtowers, the Arsenal held the key to the Republic's phenomenal wealth and power--its mammoth shipyards.
Founded in 1104 and enlarged between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Arsenal (from the Arabic
"dar-sina'a," meaning "house of industry") guaranteed Venice's grip on a maritime empire stretching throughout the eastern Mediterranean. It was a state enterprise that kept potential rivals in check by building galleys to strict specifications and employing shipbuilders with unparalleled skills and speed.
The Arsenal held a storeroom with armor and saddles for thousands of soldiers, a foundry
for making cannon for the warships, and a magazine with arms for 800,000 men. Every two months Venice dispatched commercial fleets of 300 to 400 ships from the Arsenal. Each
ship weighed a hundred tons or more, such as the great galley ("galea grossa"), which was 135 feet long.
A grand triumphal archway, called the Porta Magna, was added as a pedestrian entrance to the
Arsenal in 1460. (The ships came and went through a waterway guarded by massive stone towers.) One of the earliest Renaissance works in the city, the Porta featured a statue of a winged lion, symbol of the Republic. Above the lion loomed a pediment surmounted by a statue of St. Justina by Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625), one of the city's great artists.
The Arsenal was a crucial destination when King Henry III of France, a much-needed ally against
the Turks, paid a state visit in 1574. To demonstrate Venice's awesome maritime strength, city officials impressed Henry by showing him the bare keel of a ship being laid in the morning and bringing him back twelve hours later when it was launched as a full-rigged galley. King Henry was duly impressed, and the alliance was assured.
Rhonda made some brownies last night, and John just loves brownies. For a snack he asked "more brownie? more brownie?"
history nugget of the day:
In the 14th century, the Arsenal of the Republic of Venice sprawled across 80 acres and employed 16,000 men, yet Europe's largest industrial complex was a well-kept secret to all but a few. High-walled and constantly patrolled from 12 watchtowers, the Arsenal held the key to the Republic's phenomenal wealth and power--its mammoth shipyards.
Founded in 1104 and enlarged between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Arsenal (from the Arabic
"dar-sina'a," meaning "house of industry") guaranteed Venice's grip on a maritime empire stretching throughout the eastern Mediterranean. It was a state enterprise that kept potential rivals in check by building galleys to strict specifications and employing shipbuilders with unparalleled skills and speed.
The Arsenal held a storeroom with armor and saddles for thousands of soldiers, a foundry
for making cannon for the warships, and a magazine with arms for 800,000 men. Every two months Venice dispatched commercial fleets of 300 to 400 ships from the Arsenal. Each
ship weighed a hundred tons or more, such as the great galley ("galea grossa"), which was 135 feet long.
A grand triumphal archway, called the Porta Magna, was added as a pedestrian entrance to the
Arsenal in 1460. (The ships came and went through a waterway guarded by massive stone towers.) One of the earliest Renaissance works in the city, the Porta featured a statue of a winged lion, symbol of the Republic. Above the lion loomed a pediment surmounted by a statue of St. Justina by Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625), one of the city's great artists.
The Arsenal was a crucial destination when King Henry III of France, a much-needed ally against
the Turks, paid a state visit in 1574. To demonstrate Venice's awesome maritime strength, city officials impressed Henry by showing him the bare keel of a ship being laid in the morning and bringing him back twelve hours later when it was launched as a full-rigged galley. King Henry was duly impressed, and the alliance was assured.
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