But the same lagoons that had defeated all her enemies from the time of the Huns still protected her. She was impregnable; and Cardona was forced to retire, as the Genoese had done long years before. During 1514 the Venetian territory was the scene of marching and counter-marching, with little or no result; when in 1515 Louis XII. died, and Francis I. at once declared himself Duke of Milan, and so conducted his affairs in Italy that the Peace of Brussels, in which Venice was included, was signed in 1516. This virtually ended the effects of the League of Cambray, and Venice again resumed her former territory on the mainland.
The struggles between Francis and Charles V. made little difference to the Republic, except that Charles demanded 80,000 ducats, which were paid; and in his settlement of Italy in 1529 he left Venice with her frontier where Carmagnola had fixed it, on the Adda; there it remained so long as the Republic endured. She was able to congratulate herself that she was still an independent power, although enfeebled beyond recovery.
And now her former strength was replaced by the only weapon left to her, diplomacy. The Council of Ten and the Three Inquisitors became all-powerful; while the slightest alarm raised a panic of fear and excitement, and secrecy, vigilance, silence, and mystery were relied on to preserve her existence, which actually depended on two circumstances,—first, her impregnable position; and second, the jealousy between other powers, which would not permit any one of them to appropriate her possessions on Terra Firma.
The Venetian characteristic which proved to be "the ruling passion, strong in death," her love of ceremonies and pleasure, was in no wise modified through all these troublous years. It would seem like dancing on its own grave, when at the wedding of Jacopo Foscari the ambassadors of the members of the League of Cambray were entertained with magnificent spectacles, while Brescia and Bergamo, Verona and Vicenza were in the hands of these very enemies. The gayety of the life and the safety of her position made Venice a desirable asylum to those who hated war. She was the only Italian city that had never been at the mercy of a brutal enemy; and many came to her for safety, as Petrarch had done. Art flourished; every comfort and luxury of living could be had. Great license of conduct was allowed; indeed, save committing a political fault, a man of wealth could do almost anything he chose, as private crimes seemed to be matters of indifference. In fact, Venice spared no pains to stand before the world as an attractive resort, a city of pageants and pleasure, to which all were made welcome.
From the Peace of Brussels in 1516 to the peace with the Turks in 1573 there is little to record to the glory of the Republic. In the war of the Valtelline and in that of the Spanish succession she simply strove to preserve her neutrality, and succeeded, but at the expense of having her territory overrun by both armies and submitting to humiliation in silence.
In 1537 a third war broke out with the Turks, and was concluded by a peace in 1540, which was ruinous to Venice in the further loss of territory in the Levant. This treaty was made with Suleiman the Magnificent; and when at his death, in 1566, Selim the Drunkard became Sultan, he at once determined to seize on Cyprus, and demanded its surrender on the plea that it was a dependency of Mecca. In its weakness the Republic appealed for help to the Pope, who promised that all Europe should give its support. But the usual disappointment was repeated,—the assistance was meagre, and the delay in sending it was such that although the cities of Nicosia and Famagosta made a stout resistance, and the Venetian commandants did all that brave men could do, hoping for relief from day to day, yet Cyprus was conquered by the Turks without a Venetian fleet coming within sight of the island. The details of the defence, and of the sufferings of the Italians at the hands of the barbarous Turks, are too heart-sickening for repetition.
At length the allied fleet of the Venetians, Spaniards, and Papal forces, when all too late to save Cyprus, encountered the Ottoman fleet off Lepanto, and a desperate battle for five hours resulted in a splendid victory for the allies. The Turks lost thirty thousand men and one hundred and seventeen galleys, while the Christians lost eight thousand. Sebastian Venier won great renown for himself and the Republic; and Venice had the supreme joy of once again celebrating a victory and hearing a Te Deum in San Marco. The Venetians desired to press on at once to Constantinople, having a reasonable hope, after such a defeat, of crushing the power of the infidel; but the allies would not consent, and Don John of Austria took his ships into winter quarters. By spring the Turks were ready with a fleet of two hundred and ten sail. Venice could not contend with them alone, and in the end made a peace which, together with Cyprus, contented the Turk for a time.
In 1574 Henry III. arrived in Venice, on his way from Poland to France, and afforded the Venetians an excuse for one of their dearly loved pageants. Everything was done to make the occasion impressive and magnificent His attendants were young nobles of high rank. He was received under a triumphal arch designed by Palladio and painted by Veronese and Tintoretto. He was lodged in the Foscari Palace, with the two adjoining palaces of the Giustiniani also at his service. A large platform floated on the canal before the palace, to accommodate the comedians by day and the musicians at night. A regatta, a banquet and ball, and other spectacles afforded him entertainment; and he left Venice as he might have left an enchanted island, intoxicated with its pleasures and beauties.
It may readily be seen that after the peace with the Turks, so different in spirit from what the Venetians had been accustomed to, there were constant difficulties arising between the vessels of the two powers, and it was impossible for the Republic to prevent such acts on the part of her seamen as might give any Ottoman prince an excuse for a declaration of war. But by the payment of indemnities and other pacific measures peace was maintained during more than seventy years, when the Sultan Ibrahim determined to take Candia, the last important stronghold of the Venetians in the Levant.
The Sultan alleged that the Knights of Malta had seized a Turkish vessel that was carrying pilgrims, and had then touched at Candia; and although the Governor of Candia had warned the Maltese off, it served the Sultan as the excuse that he desired for attacking the island. Well understanding this, Venice at once did all in her power to garrison and provision Candia, although the preparations were quite inadequate.