Venice Guide and Boat
Daniele Manin: Venice’s 1848 Patriot at St. Mark’s Basilica
In 1848, the Venetian lawyer Daniele Manin rose to lead a courageous insurrection and proclaimed the short-lived Republic of San Marco, standing against Austrian domination and becoming a symbol of Venice’s quest for liberty. Today, his legacy is forever tied to St. Mark’s Basilica, where his final resting place lies in the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, just north of the cathedral.
Picture yourself entering St. Mark’s Square, tracing the path of historical pageantry and civic fervor. Step into the Piazzetta dei Leoncini—a small, sunlit corner of the square—where Manin’s sarcophagus sits in dignified simplicity. Surrounded by the grandeur of gilded mosaics and soaring campanile, his tomb reminds us of how civic values and humility coexist in Venetian memory.
Manin was a multilingual intellectual—a scholar who translated Justinian’s Pandects by age 14 and later turned revolutionary leader when Venice demanded resistance. Encourage your readers to reflect on how his legal mind and moral conviction propelled Venice into a brief, spirited republic during the wider Italian Risorgimento era.
This illustration was made by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT
