Why did the inhabitants of medieval Venice organize mass fights on bridges?
Venice is a beautiful ancient city built in a sea lagoon. Its main feature is its numerous canals topped with picturesque bridges. Today, these are wonderful locations for romantic dates and photo shoots, but it was not always so. Once upon a time, real battles unfolded on the Venetian bridges, in which hundreds of citizens took part.
In the Middle Ages, Venice was a major trade and craft center. The city was divided into many administrative units, and its residents belonged to different factions. Citizens united in craft guilds, trade guilds, and even secret societies. Members of such unions obeyed their own rules and regulations and disliked those who lived differently.
Each community considered the streets and neighborhoods where its members lived to be its territory, and did not welcome outsiders. Skirmishes between “neighborhoods” were part of everyday life, and the townspeople had become accustomed to them. But one day, the Venetian gangs decided that it would be a good idea to sort things out in a crowd-on-crowd format, somewhere on neutral territory.
The city's largest factions were the Castellani and the Nicolotti. The Castellani, who lived in the eastern part of Venice, were artisans and shipyard workers. The Nicolotti lived in the west of the city and made their living as fishermen. The rivalry between the two groups continued for centuries.
During the holidays, the men of Castellani and Nicolotti would organize competitions and fights to demonstrate their superiority. Singing contests, bull runs, bear baiting, ball games - all these were considered peaceful ways to find out who was stronger. But there were also the so-called "battagliole sui ponti" - fist fights on the city bridges.
On weekends and holidays, Venetian bridges were transformed into battle arenas. In the Middle Ages, bridges were without railings, and the main goal of the fighters was to throw their opponents into the canal. They usually fought with bare hands, but sometimes they used clubs or sharpened sticks. Because of this, serious injuries and even deaths during battles were far from uncommon.
Spectators and fans gathered on balconies and rooftops of nearby houses to watch the fights. They did not limit themselves to words of encouragement - in the midst of the fights, flower pots, tiles and even furniture were thrown from windows and roofs into the crowd. These improvised throwers turned the fights on the bridges into an even more dangerous and extreme spectacle.
Every year, both sides lost several participants. Some were killed in the fight, others were fatally hit with flowerpots, some drowned in canals, and some were simply trampled by the angry crowd. These tragedies led to the introduction of certain rules for bridge fighting in the 17th century. The use of weapons and improvised means was banned, making the skirmishes less bloody.
By the end of the 17th century, bridge fistfights were increasingly resembling sporting events. Fighters from other cities even came to Venice with their support groups. But sometimes, from time to time, the participants and spectators lost control, and everything turned into a chaotic brawl again. As a result, bridge fights were finally banned.
The patience of the Venetian authorities snapped after the bloody massacre that took place on September 29, 1705. At first, everything was more or less orderly, but soon tiles began flying from balconies and roofs at the fighters again. The fighters themselves also lost their sporting spirit, taking up sticks and daggers, which turned the clash into chaos.
It just so happened that on the same day a fire broke out in the church of San Girolamo. But there was no one to fight the fire: some of the firefighters were involved in the fight, and the rest were among the spectators. The rector of the church ran out in despair onto the bridge where the "event" was taking place, waving a crucifix and begging for help. But when the firefighters finally arrived, the church had already burned down completely.
After this outrageous incident, the Council of Ten that governed Venice banned fistfights on bridges. Instead, rival factions began to use other ways to measure their strength. The city began to organize regattas, rowing competitions, and the Forze d'Ercole - the building of human pyramids. The latter type of competition was no less dangerous than the bridge fights. Sometimes the towers of participants collapsed, and people fell from great heights onto the pavement.
At the end of the 18th century, Venice was engulfed in a wave of political and economic upheavals. After the biggest crisis – the occupation by Napoleon’s troops in 1797 – the Venetian Republic fell apart. The years of decline deprived the citizens of time and energy for competitions. Today, the Castellani and Nicolotti clans have remained only in history, and their names remind us of the fights on the bridges. The most famous among tourists is Ponte dei Pugni, which means “Bridge of Fists”.
Venice is a city that holds many amazing stories, and the tradition of bridge fighting is one of the most vivid and dramatic pages of its past. Do you think that a similar form of competition, but in a safe and symbolic form, could become an interesting modern cultural event? For example, in the form of theatrical reconstructions or friendly competitions? Share your ideas in the comments!