CHAPTER VII

I The Doge and Dogaressa of the Fisher folk! If imitation be the sincerest form of flattery, then must the Most Serene Doges and Dogaressas of Venice, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, have experienced gratification combined with amusement at the spectacle of the mock Court of the Zattere. The fisher-folk of the parishes, wherein they principally resided, San Raffaele, Santa Marta, and San Nicolo degli Orfani, and others, were accorded the privilege of electing annually a Doge and Dogaressa to preside o…