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This is your Doge, if it please you​
​


Domenico-Robusti-Portrait-of-Mario-Barbarigo-2--S.JPG

His Serenity​

The election of the new Doge was a long and tired affair. After two weeks of sweaty seclusion inside the Palazzo Ducale engrossed in constant balloting, a majority consensus was finally reached. The coronation was as grand an affair as they had always been as throngs lined the canals as the procession wended its way to the Basilica. The guilds and arsenalotti came out in full force, and all waited expectantly for the new Doge to appear.

Cloaked in finery, the new Doge stepped out before the people surrounded by his advisors and courtiers. Solemnly the words were spoken "Your Doge, if it please you." The crowds erupted in ecstatic cheers and shouted their approval, as Francesco Ziani knelt to take the Promissory Oath of the Doge of Venice.
 
A gift of rosewater is sent to Francesco Ziani, with a note attached saying;

Good luck and God bless.

- Vitale Venier, Member of the Council of Ten

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In the Council Chambers, talk was buzzing around the room.

"Francesco Ziani as Doge? I would never have guessed it!"

"I thought it would be Vitale Venier personally..."

"What, after that trial? His name has been dragged through mud."

"Well Luigi Grimani didn't come out smelling like roses either."

"I thought Cristoforo Loredan was the best choice, after all, good name, strong business acumen..."

"But he spends half his time off the mainland!"

"Not neccessarily a bad thing."

The conversations, some loud, some hushed, continued on for hours.
 
A note, coupled with two gifts of rosewater, is sent to the new Doge.

May God smiles upon His Serenity, and bring Venice to further glory and prosperity. I pray for your long service, and for a chance to one day showcase my theatre, Il Teatro Velluto, to the people of Venice, under the administration of the Magnificent Ziani.

- Luigi Grimani, Member of the Council of Ten
 
Pasterna sends half a dozen jugs of rosewater to the new Doge, in the effort that the Grimani and Venier will shut up.
 
Kingdom of Candia is delighted to see His Serenity Francesco Ziani as our new Doge. We believe this to be a start of age of even greater prosperity for the Serenissima.
 
A letter to the Signoria from Francesco Dandolo, sent from Avignon:

Your Excellencies,

As you may have heard, the Papal interdict against the Most Serene Republic has been lifted. I am pleased to report complete success on my diplomatic mission to Avignon, as His Holiness has further agreed to normalize relations with Venice and put all of our previous unpleasantness behind us. I have complete confidence in my subordinates' ability to maintain friendly ties with the Papacy and therefore request reassignment.

I have been kept somewhat abreast of happenings in Venice and have been made aware of recent unpleasantness regarding both the Republic of Genoa and the Patriarchate of Aquileia. If it is the will of the Republic, I shall embark post-haste to whichever destination in which it is felt I would be most useful.

It remains my honor and privilege to be of service to the Republic; do not hesitate to let me know how I might be of further assistance in any way.

Sincerely,
Francesco Dandolo
Ambassador to the Throne of St. Peter
 
Posters appear throughout the Serene Republic and her territories.

ARE YOU A SAILOR OR CAPTAIN?
DO YOU WANT TO EARN LOTS OF LIRA?
VITALE VENIER IS HIRING SKILLED SAILORS!
VITALE VENIER IS HIRING SKILLED CAPTAINS!
LOTS OF LIRE CAN BE WON!
BRAVE SAILORS AND CAPTAINS WHO WORK HARD AND WELL CAN BECOME WEALTHY!
THE VENIER SHIPPING COMPANY IS HIRING NOW!*

*The Venier Shipping Company is not obligated to pay hired sailors for their first 6 months of work. Captains hired are only eligible for pay of 60% the average, unless proof of noble birth is advanced. Grimani need not apply.
 
((Apparently there is the belief that I appointed aussieboy as a Cardinal in SPT to gain political favor in LSM. To disprove this and because I feel it necessary so long as the possibility of such things happening that I must drop out of LSM until further notice.))
 
GM note: Tonkatoy5 is suspended from the game; pending a Paradox Moderator investigation. I do not cotton to the childish drama that has been playing out across the IRC; which I am sure the majority of you know about. I fully and completely believe Maxwell in his denial of any irregularities and expect you all to try and do the same.

*sighs*

Anyway, my last day of school is tomorrow; which means finally an update this weekend. All those who did not submit orders by the orginial 1312 deadline may do so by 0:00 EST, Friday the 14th and not receive any penalties.

Edited to add: Tonka has left the game; but my point still stands.
 
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Whats going on? :huh: Someone need to drop me a pm over something? :huh:
 
The Year 1312

la-venexiana-atelier.jpg
​


The Cornaro family:

Overseas, the Cornaro family thrived. After months of gifts, poetry, and courtship; Andrea Cornaro wed the Marchesa of Bodonitsa in a ceremony within the local cathedral. His wife abdicating from her throne; Andrea became the reigning Margrave and swiftly had small state annexed into the Venetian Republic. [+5 Influence to Andrea Cornaro, Margraviate of Bodonitsa annexed into La Serenissima]

Over in Candia, Marco Cornaro slaved away in ensuring his family's dominance over the wealthy island. After securing the permission of the Duke, he began financing the construction of a new fort near Candia to supplement the fortress already there; and increase the already substantial trade flowing through the city. The progress is slow and is expected to take awhile, but should pay off in the end. [-20 wealth to Marco Cornaro, fortress 1/8th complete]

In a continuing and neurotic drive to prove that the Cornaro held the mercantile upper hand, Marco set out to establish trading posts in key points around the Mediterranean. In addition to his existing foothold in Chania Marco managed to set up wealthy depots in both Messina and Barcelona, supplementing his extensive income. Unfortunately for his pride an attempt to muscle into the trade of Marseilles failed miserable; as the Dandolo were already firmly established in the area. [+10 annual Wealth to House Cornaro]

Dramatis Personae:

1312 was not a good year for Il Drago. It was, in fact, the worst year for Il Drago. Captain Morosini was intent upon helping out the Republic's finances; and kindly attempting to escort and protect Moorish and Turkish ships through the turbulent seas. The small -almost infinitesimal, really- fee exacted in return for such kindness would have been given over to the Republic had not a Turkish Admiral recognised Morosini as the man who had recently fled his wife's bedchambers. Immediately letting loose a broadside into Il Drago, the ship rested at the bottom of the Aegean within the hour. Morosini managed to drift to a friendly fiefdom; but was financially ruined. [-95 wealth to Giustiniano Morosini]

Seeking to repair his destroyed reputation with glorious fountains of cash, Vitale Venier decides to capitalise on his success in the city-state of Ancona by formalising the family finances into the Bank of St Barnabas and establishing a branch in what he now thought of as his pet city. The Bank becomes a roaring success as the patrician class of Ancona rushes to invest free of Papal strictures. Whether Venier's dominance in Ancona was growing, or whether the patricians who ruled the city merely see him as a tool remains to be seen. [+40 annual wealth to House Venier]

In what seemed to be a pattern for Venier, where one endeavour succeeded the other failed miserably. Vitale's attempts to establish a code of acceptable conduct for the use of intelligencers only received cold glares from the rest of the Council; and attempts to increase his popularity through social networking failed miserably as he received no invitations. [-5 Influence to Vitale Venier]

Work on Luigi Grimani's masterful theatre continued during the year, and skillful choice of slave even managed to speed the construction process up a bit. Much to Luigi's joy work proceeded at such a pace that an entire year was able to be shaved off the projected build-time. []

Luigi Grimani commissions the construction of a huge theatre meant to be the most luxurious, diverse, and prestigious house of arts ever seen by mortal eyes. While it does not quite achieve those lofty heights in the initial phase; construction begins smoothly and Venetians passing Torcello can already begin to see a beautiful theatre rise. [-80 wealth to Luigi Grimani, Il Teatro Velluto 3/15th completed]

As recompense for his hideous failure the previous year; Luigi decided to begin planning a secret policing arm of the Council of Ten in order to enforce what was best for the Most Serene Republic. However the birth of his son Pasquale and the subsequent death of his wife Fiore kept him occupied for most of the year.

While others attempted to flex their trade muscle far away, Gianfranco Memmo opted to work closer to home and secure control over the fledgling glassworking operations based in Murano and Burano. Using the Memmo family's connections, his legal skills, and even some leverage from the Bank of St George, Gianfranco managed to either acquire a controlling interest in, or buy outright, most of the glassworks in Venice; including the large Fratelli Toso Glassworks. The coveted Barovier Glass works remained out of reach, however. [-40 wealth to Gianfranco Memmo, near Monopoly]

Work on the St Mark Codex continued as scheduled. [Codex 2/6 complete]

Always trying to stay a step ahead of the Dandolo, Pasterna Loredan sets about securing the funding to build a trade post on Naxos and solidify his strong competing hold on Aegean trade. Unfortunately no-one seems keen to contribute to such a project; and it fails before it is even properly begun. [-5 Influence to Pasterna Loredan]

Pasterna happily oversees the institution of the first tax in Sexterio Dosduro, placed upon all members of the island who are not currently involved by serfdom. The tax was be kept relatively low, as to not upset the people, yet nonetheless began turning a profit to help fund further development in both trade, production, and infrastructure within the island. [+10 Influence to Pasterna Loredan]

Marco Dandolo's attempt to go on a speaking tour of the Guilds fails as he discovers he has absolutely no gift for public speaking; an attendee writing later to his wife that one of Marco's letters "felt like the Lord himself was punishing us for our sins". No guild wants to have him; and he ends out being left out of the social season as a result. [-10 Influence to Marco Dandolo]

Marco's scheme to buy a series of small houses in Venice, to then be rented out also fails; as if there are indeed poor people in Venice proper the Council of Ten goes to great lengths to ensure no-one sees them; and that they aren't able to bother wealthy Patricians like Marco with things like renting houses they couldn't afford. [-20 wealth to Marco Dandolo]

Pascal Dadariano starts developing information contacts on the isle of Rhodes. The goal of this is to locate the guard posts, cashes, friendly factions in the common populace of Rhodes; and it is largely successful as his contacts vary throughout the island and feed him a great deal of information about it's strengths and weaknesses.

Dadariano continues to trade in the Levant, though he focuses more to the northern ports including the Kingdom of Cilicia. His efforts pay mild dividends; enough to make the trip worth it. [+5 wealth to Pascal Dadariano]

Lo Stato da Màr:

In the Aegean, Triarch Ghisi of Negroponte attempts to repair his shattered relations with fellow Crusader states by inviting local noblemen and influential Venetians to a feast, to gain back the lost influence. Upon seeing the Prince of Achaea get drunk at his table Ghisi counts the feast the success it was; and all slights or lost influence are forgotten and regained. [+25 influence to Bartolomeo Ghisi]

Following up on this success, the Triarch once again orders the expansion of the defenses of Chalcis and nearby facilities; this being a huge success as the damages of the previous year are repaired and Negroponte becomes able to withstand a fairly powerful assault.. [+5 Influence to Partolomeo Ghisi; Negroponte fortified]

The Duke of Candia makes a number of incognito trips (with undercover bodyguards nearby ready to come to the rescue) to various areas of Candia, talking with locals and inquiring of their problems and their opinion of the Duke. After hearing their plight and concerns, the Duke takes care some gifts of money later to those that are in real need (like hard-working family with many children, not some merchant lacking third chin). [-10 Wealth to Michel Vitali, +30 Influence to Michel Vitali]

To further inspire feelings of warmth in the hearts of Candian clergymen Catholic and Orthodox alike, the Duke attempts to establish the Guild of Saint Luke, acting as a consulting and supervising body for the arts (like sending an apprentice to the most suitable teacher or helping a writer to find actors for his play).Unfortunately the plan falls through due to logistical difficulties [-20 Wealth to Michel Vitali]

Requiescat in pace:

On his way through the Piazza San Marco, Carlo Zeno was stricken with a sudden need to relieve himself. Squatting behind the porphyry columns on the edge of the Piazza; he promptly shat out his internal organs and died.

Christoforo Loredan died peacefully in his sleep; his Bank closing soon afterwards.
 
GM note: IC pl0x
 
Pascal strode through the inner streets of Rhodes. His goal was tucked away inside a small cubby off Gergorian Way. When he entered he viewed the various people gathered. They were a collection of thugs, low lives and thieves.

But they all had their services bought for cash. As such, these were the types of men that Pascal has to work with in order to achieve his ambitions.

Dadariano pulled out a small bag of gold coins to show the men, their eyes lighting up like bonfires.

"This is but a portion of what you would recieve if you work for me". At this he knew he had these "people" hooked.
 
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It is a dark time for House Grimani. With the recent death of my eternal love, the only brightness of today in the birth of young Pasquale Grimani. May his life be worth Fiore's passing.

In other dark news, I've heard a great tragedy has befallen our beloved Captain Morosini. He has the full condolences of myself, and such, we offer to fund the construction of a new ship, while he is forced to remain aground.

- Luigi Grimani, Member of the Council of Ten
 
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