Lucie Dubes - Observation paper 3

Italian elitism over time

During the 16th century, the Mediterranean occupied a unique place in the world, as the center of urban network, intense migration and trade. As Whright would argue, Venice, because of its status as a port city, represented ‘the undisputed center of the Mediterranean World’ (253). Venice, as argued in class, was considered ‘strange by the others’ because of its landscape uniqueness, special political status as a Republic, social classes blend, and most importantly its extravagant lifestyle. Such lifestyle has been portrayed by two films, shown in class, the Shakespeare’s play adaptation of The Merchants of Venice, as well as the biographical film about the courtesan Veronica Franco, Dangerous Beauty. In this reflexion, I will analyze how the portrayal of Venice through the medium of film re-transcribes its uniqueness in the 16th century, comparing it to a contemporary cinematographic representation of Rome elitist hedonic lifestyle in 2013’s film La Grande Belleza. 

Historically, Venice was a city of dwellers, highly reliant on imports coming from the Ottoman Empire. Its key position as a port city of the Mediterranean allowed Venice to enter what Whright calls a ‘self-contained system of budding capitalists’ (252). Such process strongly affected Venetian lifestyle, as the city became wealthier, and occupied a superior and leading status in the Mediterranean. By the 16th century, Venice was ‘in love with money, bills of exchanges, fabrics, foods, spices, and shipping’ (253). The luxurious lifestyle of Venetians is depicted in Paolo Veronese’s painting The Wedding at Cana, illustrating the abundance of Venetian banquets. 

Venetian luxurious lifestyle and high capital also allowed the city to become a place of artistic and literary inspiration. As mentioned in lecture, Venetians were fashionable people, listing to music, engaging in witty conversations and entertaining themselves with theatre, gambling, drinking and fine dining. Venice was the city where emerged the theatrical gender known as Comedia Dell’Arte. This aspect of the 16th century Venetian ‘pursuit of good living’ is portrayed in the cinematographic adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchants of Venice. The introduction of the film immediately immerse the audience in a place of hedonism, sensuality and debauchery. The very first scenes offer a shot of the famous ‘Venetian courtesans,’ ‘considered necessary by the authorities to preserve the pleasant life in Venice’ (Whright, 257). Venetian courtesans were more than prostitutes, they were known for their education, refinement of speech and taste. Courtesans are also portrayed in another film Dangerous Beauty, based on the very life of one of the most celebrated courtesan, Veronica Franco. The film presents courtesanery as a desired option for women to get access to libraries and education. Though those two cinematographic works, 16th century Venice was portrayed as a place of luxury, elitism, education, philosophy and art. 

Interestingly enough, though four centuries earlier, this hedonistic of the elite lifestyle is still very anchored in contemporary Italy, as beautifully portrayed by Paolo Sorrentino’s last film, La Grande Belleza. Indeed, through the lens of his camera, Sorrentino films bares contemporary Roman weary upper class. With the use of grotesque characters placed in an eccentric world of pleasure and wealth, Sorrentino translates the empty lavishness of the elite society’s existence. When comparing Venetian’s 16th century lifestyle with contemporary Roman elites, we still find the omnipresence of art, sensuality, driven discussions around abundant meals, almost as an indicator of the hierarchy of their class. 

Cinematography serves as an useful tool of comparison between two historical time periods in two different significant cities of Italy. Though the economical and political context have significantly changed, it is interesting to note how the social conception of ‘elitism’ still holds some similarities. Wealth and social class is strongly associated with hedonistic, debauched lifestyle, always giving art a very significance important, at the center of discussions around the table - an intrinsic and timeless tradition of Italian lifestyle.