The Virgin and the Evangelist: Venice's Saintly Protectors

As the patron saints of the city, Saint Mark and the Virgin Mary stood at the very center of Venetian

identity. The Venetians claimed that while evangelizing in northeastern Italy, Mark received an angelic

description of the great city that would arise in his honor. The Venetians’ theft of Mark’s remains in the

early ninth century seemed the fulfilment of that prophecy. At the same time, the Venetians believed that

their city was founded on March 25, 421, the feast of the Annunciation. In this way, they argued that

Venice enjoyed a special association with Mary and developed the idea that theirs was a `virgin’ city,

unbeholden to other powers.

Dennis Romano is the Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History emeritus at

Syracuse University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Venetian history, including his

most recent book, Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City (Oxford University Press, 2024).

He has held numerous research grants, including a Guggenheim fellowship and been a fellow at the

Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery in Washington and at the Folger

Shakespeare Library. He is also an honorary fellow of Ateneo Veneto (the Venetian Athenaeum). He

lives in Washington, DC.

READ A REVIEW OF PROF. ROMANO'S BOOK AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/12/30/venice-history-dennis-romano-review/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA1ODk5NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA3MjgxOTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDU4OTk2MDAsImp0aSI6IjFhODg5OTBiLTZiMDQtNDk3Ni05MDg0LWI1MzBlNjJlN2U4MCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9ib29rcy8yMDIzLzEyLzMwL3ZlbmljZS1oaXN0b3J5LWRlbm5pcy1yb21hbm8tcmV2aWV3LyJ9.hkujz5IB1ba30jRfpIk9-aSv5gBmkBuhDadf39urNKA