Myths of Venice: The Figuration of a State
Venice has inspired both Wills (St. Augustine) and Rosand  (Painting in Sixteenth Century Venice) to write remarkably  laudatory works on the artistic legacy generated by the  Renaissance mythmakers and propagandists of that city. Both  authors emphasize the importance Venetians placed on creating a  historical identity that would set them apart from other  Italians and other nations. Venice was unique in Italy for being  a city created after the fall of the Roman Empire. The mythical  date for the foundation of Venice, March 25, is also the date of  the Annunciation and of Christ's crucifixion significant, as  Venetians saw it, in giving a unique spiritual flavor to their  city. Wills and Rosand look at the paintings, sculpture, and  architecture in Venice with the aim of examining how these works  illustrated and glorified incidents in the history or myth that  the Venetians created for themselves and the wider world. Rosand  stresses the importance of English writers in propagating the  myth of Venice as a unique state possessing an exemplary  political constitution and so ensuring the city a literary  immortality in the English-speaking world. Wills's more  anecdotal book covers Venetian literature and politics to a  greater degree, showing how various social and political factors  were crucial to the formation of Renaissance Venice. But both  stress the importance that art played in the creation of the  city's sense of identity, and both are highly recommended for  public and academic libraries. [Wills's book was previewed in  Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/01.] Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., M.- Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MNCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.