The Strait of Hormuz, so much talked about today—closed, reopened, and closed again in this challenging time for the world's economic stability—has a history closely tied to the city of Venice. So close is this connection that a Venetian fondamenta (a fondamenta is the stretch of road that runs alongside a canal) derives its name from Hormuz. It's called Fondamenta degli Ormesini, is located in the Cannaregio district, and is now popular with Venetians and tourists alike for its many outdoor cafés where it's pleasant to watch the sunset while sipping a spritz by the canal.
In ancient times, the Fondamenta degli Ormesini was the site of the production of precious silk fabrics, which the Serenissima purchased from the East. Specifically, from Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint of a strategic global economic passage. The Venetians called these silk fabrics Ormesini, referring—as often happened with imported goods—to their place of origin. And Ormesini was also the name of the area of the lagoon city where they were manufactured. It was called, and is called, because its toponym has remained unchanged.
We spoke about Hormuz, Venice, and its surroundings with historian Marco Zanetto, professor at the Institute of Ecumenical Studies and full professor at the Ateneo Veneto. What connected the Serenissima to this Strait, today a crucial corridor for the world's economies?
"The routes of the Venetian galleys and cogs had various divisions including that of the Levant and Alexandria in Egypt, Haifa, Acre and other locations in the Eastern MediterraneanVenice had managed to establish particularly advantageous trade contracts with the local Arab and Turkish potentates. These contracts concerned the transport and trade of precious materials such as silk, coral, and spices used for sacred purposes (incense and other sacred perfumes), for medicinal purposes (e.g., sugar, cinnamon, ginger), and for food preservation (pepper, salt, and more). Processed products such as certain Chinese ceramics also arrived from the East. The Venetians intervened halfway along the route of these goods, which were then packed in large quantities into the holds of galleys and cogs. To generate a certain profit, they had to be valuable, sought-after, and compact, so that large quantities could be transported.".
So, if today a fifth of the world's oil, fertilizers and much more pass through Hormuz, at the time the protagonists of those routes were coral, silk, spices...
"These products, highly sought-after by the society of the time, passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Alternatively, they also passed through the Red Sea. They came from the Malacca Peninsula, Indochina, and Indonesia, and partly from southern China. Chinese merchants controlled the passage of goods to Indian ports. Here, Hindu merchants intervened, crossing the Strait of Hormuz or the Red Sea. The goods were then picked up by Arab merchants who, using caravans of dromedaries—more docile and tame than camels—brought them to Alexandria, Tyre, and Haifa. In those ports, they were picked up by Venetian merchants, who loaded them onto galleys and returned to Venice thanks to the famous mistral wind. Venetian galleys rarely crossed the Strait of Hormuz.
There is however a famous Venetian who certainly crossed Hormuz, Marco Polo: he talks about it in his The million
"Yup, Marco Polo made his return journey in galleys, first Chinese, then Indochinese and Hindu. The voyages of the Polos—Matteo, Nicolò, and then Marco—were courageously undertaken to try to re-establish the Silk Road after the Mongols, during the 13th century, had partially interrupted this trade. They generally passed through two routes: the sea route from Hormuz or the Red Sea, the more convenient; the land route, the more difficult. The Venetians, masters of diplomacy, kept both open: to have an alternative, sea or land, available in case of difficulty.".
Since when was the passage of Hormuz known to the Venetians?
"It has always been there, certainly since before the year 1000, albeit on a lesser scale. The Serenissima also sailed in the western Mediterranean basin, but the main route was always to and from the Levant. The Venetians had succeeded in replacing the Byzantines in controlling this particular type of trade. The Fourth Crusade developed precisely because of this main economic motivation.".
Let's go back to where we started, to the Fondamenta degli Ormesini
"It was there that the silk fabrics from Hormuz were manufactured. They were called Ormesini because it was typical for Venetians to give these labels, by assimilation, to products imported from abroad. Classifying them according to their different origins".
So is Venice perhaps the only city in Italy to have a toponym that derives from Hormuz?
"Probably yes. It must be said that in Venice there were other small Italian communities engaged in the production and sale of silk: those from Milan, but especially those from Florence and Lucca. They lived in the area of the Basilica dei Frari. They were able to operate in Venice while respecting well-defined regulations, valid for many other communities present in the city, an infinite number: Dalmatians, Albanians, Germans, the Jews who had always been present, the Protestants. Venice was a melting pot of peoples, each with its own particularities and its own minority percentage: in terms of its inhabitants, its ability to trade, its ability to integrate into Venetian economic life, etc. In all of this, the Senate of the Serenissima was the great body that governed all activities.".
There's a peculiarity about Venice back then that perhaps should inspire the present, regardless of the different contexts and eras. Today, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has put the world's oil supply in crisis, and not only that. In the days of the Serenissima, there was always solution B...
"Over the centuries, Venice has been the only European city that has never feared the outbreak of famine. This is because the Venetians sourced grain from many different areas: the Venetian mainland, Puglia, the granaries of the Black Sea (present-day Ukraine), and the Levant. This increased supply. If, for any reason, grain was lacking in one area, it was sourced elsewhere. This too has contributed to Venice's greatness over the centuries..
