[stately classical music]
Female Narrator: This scene shows the French ambassador’s grand ceremonial entry into Venice in 1706, designed to dazzle his hosts with the power and wealth of the French crown. Let’s eavesdrop on the ambassador himself, the Abbé de Pomponne, as he describes the reception to his king, Louis XIV:
[music ends][quill pen scratching on paper]
Male Actor with French Accent: “I have endeavored to render it as dazzling as I possibly could. … The Venetians profess that they have never seen such a lavish and magnificent entry.”
[horse-drawn carriage on cobbled street]
Female Narrator: The best way to dazzle was to arrive with his entourage in the most elaborate gilded gondolas. You can see them on the left. Venice had laws against ostentatious displays of wealth, but since the ambassador was a foreigner, his vessels could be as opulent as he wanted.
[dogs barking]
Male Actor with French Accent: “The entire city is in agreement that there has never been such a grand ceremony on the occasion of the entry of an ambassador.”
[music begins]
Female Narrator: It’s unusual to have an eyewitness account from an event’s main protagonist. To find him, first locate the dogs in the lower part of the painting, toward the right. Directly beyond the two smaller dogs is a man dressed in black and white clerical robes. That’s the ambassador. Each member of his delegation is accompanied by a Venetian senator in a scarlet toga. Together they advance towards the Doge’s Palace. Noblemen and dockworkers, merchants and beggars throng the quay, curious to see the foreign diplomat. On the balcony above, a few excited spectators have even climbed over the railing for a better view.
[music ends]
