What happened on March 8 in Venice

According to the Venetian Liturgical Calendar, today is John of St. God’s Day.

He is the Patron Saint of the Art of Bookbinding

- March 8, 1429: after wounding Doge Francesco Foscari in the nose, N.H. Andrea Contarini is sentenced. His right hand is cut off and he is hanged between the columns of the Piazzetta.

- March 8, 1814: at the Caffè Floriàn in Venice, the French general Daurier reads the bulletin of the Napoleonic victories, but the witty interruptions, the jokes and the cheerful laughter from the patrons lead to a decree that shuts the venue.

- March 8, 1847: the theatrical season at the Verona Philharmonic comes to an end with a sigh of relief from the inhabitants of Verona. Lasting two months, the opera season saw two exceptional singers taking it in turns on the stage: Luigia Abbadia and Spanish Eugenia Garçia, between whom there was a fiery artistic rivalry: Abbadia was flanked by the Risorgimento supporters, Garçia by Austrian officers. The outcome of the theatrical season: confrontations, booing, scuffles, fights and stone-throwing among the spectators, head injuries, arrests, hospitalizations, constant hurling of cabbage and tomatoes, and even an owl on the stage.

Taken from 'Almanacco di Venezia -1600 anni ab Urbe còndita' by Andrea Gersich and Edoardo Rubini

Venice, 8th March 2021