An Italian Noble Lady in 1380 1380年のイタリアの貴族の女性

The Italian Renaissance  was a period in Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Proponents of a "long Renaissance" argue that it started around the year 1300 and lasted until about 1600. In some fields, a Proto-Renaissance, beginning around 1250, is typically accepted. The French word renaissance (corresponding to rinascimento in Italian) means "rebirth", and defines the period as one of cultural revival and renewed interest in classical antiquity after the centuries during what Renaissance humanists labelled as the "Dark Ages". The Italian Renaissance historian Giorgio Vasari used the term rinascita ("rebirth") in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects in 1550, but the concept became widespread only in the 19th century, after the work of scholars such as Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt.

The Renaissance began in Tuscany in Central Italy and centred in the city of Florence. The Florentine Republic, one of the several city-states of the peninsula, rose to economic and political prominence by providing credit for European monarchs and by laying down the groundwork for developments in capitalism and in banking. Renaissance culture later spread to Venice, the heart of a Mediterranean empire and in control of the trade routes with the east since its participation in the Crusades and following the journeys of Marco Polo between 1271 and 1295. Thus Italy renewed contact with the remains of ancient Greek culture, which provided humanist scholars with new texts. Finally the Renaissance had a significant effect on the Papal States and on Rome, largely rebuilt by humanist and Renaissance popes, such as Julius II and Leo X, who frequently became involved in Italian politics, in arbitrating disputes between competing colonial powers and in opposing the Protestant Reformation, which started c. 1517.

The Italian Renaissance has a reputation for its achievements in painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, music, philosophy, science, technology, and exploration. Italy became the recognized European leader in all these areas by the late 15th century, during the era of the Peace of Lodi (1454–1494) agreed between Italian states. The Italian Renaissance peaked in the mid-16th century as domestic disputes and foreign invasions plunged the region into the turmoil of the Italian Wars (1494–1559). However, the ideas and ideals of the Italian Renaissance spread into the rest of Europe, setting off the Northern Renaissance from the late 15th century. Italian explorers from the maritime republics served under the auspices of European monarchs, ushering in the Age of Discovery. The most famous voyage was that of Christopher Columbus (who sailed for Spain) and laid the foundation for European dominance of the Americas. Other explorers include Giovanni da Verrazzano (for France), Amerigo Vespucci (for Spain), and John Cabot (for England). Italian scientists such as Falloppio, Tartaglia, Galileo and Torricelli played key roles in the Scientific Revolution, and foreigners such as Copernicus and Vesalius worked in Italian universities. Historiographers have proposed various events and dates of the 17th century, such as the conclusion of the European wars of religion in 1648, as marking the end of the Renaissance.

My Italian friend Laura names her costume "An Italian Noble Lady in 1380".

So, what exactly happened in 1380?

The naval Battle of Chioggia took place in June 1380 in the lagoon off Chioggia, Italy, between the Venetian and the Genoese fleets, who had captured the little fishing port in August the preceding year. This occurred during the War of Chioggia.

The War of Chioggia (Italian: Guerra di Chioggia) was a conflict fought by the Republic of Genoa against the Republic of Venice between 1378 and 1381, the conclusion of an open confrontation that had lasted for years and which had already included some occasional and limited military clashes.

Initially the Genoese managed to conquer Chioggia and vast areas of the Venetian Lagoon, but in the end the Venetians managed to recover Chioggia and the Lagoon and Istrian cities that had fallen into the hands of the Genoese. The war then ended diplomatically with the Treaty of Turin on 8 August 1381, which sanctioned the exit of the Genoese and Venetians from a conflict in which both maritime republics had suffered enormous economic damage.

The War of Chioggia represented the last major clash between the Genoese and the Venetians, from which Venice soon recovered thanks to its solid internal organisation, while Genoa, at that time also tormented by internal struggles for power, entered a period of clashes which led it to a coexistence with its Venetian rivals, and their commercial interests towards the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean were de facto divided in the following centuries, with the areas of the Dodecanese, Constantinople and the Black Sea to Genoese trade, while the Adriatic, the Ionian Islands and Crete to Venetian trade.

In the bustling, mercantile heart of Venice in 1380, nestled within a palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal, resided Laura, a noble lady of considerable influence. Her life was a tapestry woven with threads of privilege, piety, and political maneuvering. Dressed in rich velvets and adorned with pearls from the Orient, Isabella moved within a world dictated by strict social hierarchies and the ever-present machinations of Venetian power. While ostensibly confined to the domestic sphere, she exerted her influence through shrewd negotiations for her family's business ventures, strategic marriages for her daughters, and charitable works that cemented her family's reputation within the city. The echoes of the recent war with Genoa still resonated in the air, reminding Laura of the fragility of Venice's prosperity, a prosperity she was determined to protect and enhance for her family's future. Her days were a carefully orchestrated dance of piety, diplomacy, and subtle assertiveness, all performed within the gilded cage of her noble birth.

The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians and an increasing number of foreign costumers now prefer historical costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these historical costumes carry deep perspectives...

And as usual, the portraits are just done on the busy streets of Venice and using natural lighting only...It is not an indoor photo studio, there is no artificial lighting, flash or reflectors...With my costumed friends, we just take our street portraiture to an all new level....