On 12 May 1797, under threat from Bonaparte's troops, the Great Council voted an end to a thousand years of Republic. Five months later Venice was handed to Austria by the Treaty of Campo Formio.

Historical context

In the spring of 1797 the Republic of Venice had made the mistake of staying neutral while the Italian campaign was fought on its territory. An incident at the Lido, where a French frigate was fired on, provided the pretext. Bonaparte raged: "I shall be an Attila for Venice." On 12 May the Great Council voted its own abolition by 512 votes to 20; Ludovico Manin, the last doge, took off his ducal cap saying he would not need it again.

What followed was open bargaining. By the Treaty of Campo Formio of 17 October 1797, Bonaparte handed Venice, Istria and Dalmatia to Austria in exchange for Belgium and recognition of the Cisalpine Republic. He had not consulted the Directory. A thousand-year-old republic was traded for a frontier: the first act of a diplomacy in which nations were counters.

The seizures followed: the four bronze horses of St Mark's basilica left for Paris and were set on the Carrousel triumphal arch, along with the lion of the Piazzetta and dozens of paintings. They came back in 1815. After Pressburg (1805) Venice joined the Kingdom of Italy; Napoleon stayed there from 29 November to 8 December 1807.

French rule left a lasting urban mark: the Napoleonic wing closing St Mark's Square, built by demolishing the church of San Geminiano; the public gardens taken from convents; the cemetery of San Michele, created because burial in the city was being banned. Venice lost its independence, kept its scenery, and inherited an occupier's town planning.