by Giampietro Lea (Venetian Institute) -

Dear Friend,
in a small corner of Central Europe, tucked away on the northern and eastern shores of the Adriatic, there lies a land which was once called the Venetian Republic and whose capital was the world-famous city of Venice.

Hundreds of millions of people know about Venice because of its architectural beauty.
However, very few, a few thousand at the most, are aware that Venice was also the birthplace of liberty.

The Venetian Republic, of which the city of Venice was only but the largest and most precious jewel in the crown, was an empire stretching from northern Italy, down the Dalmatian coast, the Ionic islands, the Peloponnesus, the coast of Romania, Cyprus, Crete and the coast of northern Africa. Uninterruptedly for 1100 years, from 697 to 1797 a.d., it held up high the torch of liberty and acted as a beacon of light for all free nations.

During its long life it collected a long list of "firsts".
It was the first nation to nurture innovation and protect it with patents, to protect free speech, to support "heretic" academic research, to introduce equal rights between the sexes, to provide free medical care for the indigent, to create kindergartens and legislate on child labour, to provide government student bursaries, to establish a national bank and issue treasury bonds, to institute non religious charities, to create the industrial "production line", and to uphold firmly the rule of law especially when its own leaders were involved.

Her far-stretching empire was not held together by occupying armies striking fear in the hearts of the local population. Nor were the lower social classes oppressed by their leaders. There were no occupying armies stationed in the Venetian territories! There were no military units stationed in the capital!

From northern Italy to Montenegro and Crete, what held together such apparently different and distinct populations was a common culture. A culture founded on the fundamental ideals of individual liberty and institutional integrity. And on their spontaneous offshoots of freedom of enterprise and limited government. All four linked and kept in check by the fifth ideal of "commonwealth"!

The glue holding this nation together was a deeply rooted and deeply felt, in all classes of the population, common belief in the ideals of individual liberty, institutional integrity and commonwealth.
So strong was this glue that the Venetian Republic never had any social unrest in its territories - unlike other large European nations whose leaders often ordered their army to fire against their own populations!
So strong was this glue that the most trustworthy and fiercest soldiers of the Republic, the ones which the Senate entrusted with the protection of the Flag, were not from Venice but came from 1000 miles away - from Montenegro. And when, in May 1797, the Venetian Senate gave the order to surrender to the invading French armies, the Montenegrins refused to obey and still held out against the enemy.

The Republic's institutional strength gave her also the military might necessary to fight against the advancing Muslim armies. For centuries, the Venetian Republic fought tooth and nail to protect the Christian identity of Europe. And, at the battle of Lepanto - the largest naval conflict of all times - the Venetian fleet, almost single handed, defeated once and for all the Turkish navy.

But - I hear you asking - how could such a successful nation collapse so suddenly and disappear completely from the world map?

When the French armies turned up at the borders of the Republic, in 1796, the Venetian government sadly lacked a Churchill. The Republic lacked a leader capable of inflaming the martial spirit of its fellow Senators and of leading the country against the invaders! The Republic found herself with a Doge (the elected King), willing to go down on his knees in front of the enemy hoping for clemency.

Without a leader, the spontaneous popular uprisings against the invading armies were quickly and bloodily suppressed. The millenarian torch of liberty - which had served as a beacon of light for Europe and beyond - was extinguished. Every single flame was systematically smothered. Leaving a clear run, on the European continent, to the ideal of socialism carried on the tips of the advancing French bayonets.

Napoleon was later defeated at Waterloo. The countries he had occupied were liberated and reconstituted within their former borders. The Venetian Republic however was not just a country but a symbol.
Rumblings, which culminated in the 1848 popular uprisings against various European monarchies, could already be felt in the distance. Allowing the Venetian Republic to exist again would provide the populations in revolt with an ideal form of government to aspire to. The Venetian Republic was never given back its freedom. And its territories and its people - like the spoils of a hunting expedition - were shared out amongst the diners sitting at the winning table.

Coming back to the present day …

Buried deep inside the heart of many Venetians, the yearning for freedom has burnt uninterrupted for the past two centuries. And thanks to the new political climate created by the end of the Cold War, this yearning has now come out into the open.
The new century has seen the birth of a myriad of grass-root political movements all spurred by a common desire - to see their country rise out of the ashes. These movements are currently concentrated and most vocal in northern Italy, but murmurs can already be heard also in other Venetian territories along the Dalmatian coast and beyond.

In northern Italy, the Right considers these Venetian movements as nothing more than folklore with no real political future. They are in fact very small, with no financial strength, and continuously bickering. Thus, the chorus from the Right keeps repeating "they will never succeed … they will never succeed", apparently ignoring that History has proved countless times that the word "never" should be used very carefully.

Tactically always more alert than the Right, the Italian Left has hedged its position and has covertly infiltrated its own people within the top echelons of these movements. As a result, recent demonstrations against free markets, and the US, were joined by many of these Venetian organisations.

The issue has now moved up a gear.
Renowned academics, economists and other professionals have recently expressed public support for these movements, or even joined their ranks, although this entails risking their standing within academia or society.
And like a good entrepreneur, who sniffs the way the market is going and launches a new product even before demand materialises, the Left has now launched a Venetian Communist Party whose manifesto openly calls for "separation from Italy".

Communist Party ???
I can hear you laughing and exclaiming "They can't be serious? Communism is dead!"

You shouldn't laugh. The collapse of the Soviet Union has not resulted in the demise of communism or socialism.
Quite the opposite, in fact. 20 years on from the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the majority of East Germans openly yearn for their previous socialist system.
Just like a blonde with beautiful eyes, whose faults we keep overlooking, socialism will always have a strong appeal. And the inability of the Italian Right to understand the current situation, and their hostility towards these Venetian movements, has given the Left a position of dominance from which it can artfully enhance the allure of this blonde!

"And what has the Venetian Institute got to do with all this?" - I can hear you asking.

We too sniffed the air and realised that, like a plane rolling to take off, the Venetian situation has now passed the point of no return. We do not know how long it will keep rolling before the wheels leave the ground, but at a certain point the plane will take off.

As the new route to be flown will be decided by the passengers, we aim to make sure that the ideals of individual liberty, institutional integrity and commonwealth become part of their soul, once again, well before take off.
We want the passengers to realise that the millenarian success of the Venetian Republic, and its surprising lack of social unrest, were the consequences of an institutional system founded on the above ideals and certainly not on socialism.
These same ideals must be used as the foundation stones of a re-born Venetian Republic.

We realise we are in it for the long run, as the flames of liberty - once rekindled - will need continuous nourishment and protection to stop them from dying out or being extinguished. We are also facing an uphill struggle, as the enemy has already gained a position of dominance. But neither hail nor thunder will deter us from the path we have chosen!

Dear Friend,
just like a street performer at the end of his show, now the time has come for me to walk around, cap in hand, asking for your support!

Our struggle is little known and taking place in a far away corner of the world. But remember … most major battles were won by a surprise action on a weak flank. The Venetian issue is currently the weak flank of the battle-line against socialism. Were the enemy to breach this flank it could easily over-run the heavily fortified main-line from the rear and cause the collapse of the whole front.

The Venetian Republic was the birthplace of individual liberty and institutional integrity, and - as a result of the above - of free enterprise and limited government. I dare you to imagine the consequences of allowing this nation to be reborn along socialist lines!

On the contrary, if this flank were to be fortified, the Venetian torch of liberty would be relit. Thus strengthening also the American one, whose light is getting dimmer and dimmer by the year. With two torches of liberty, acting as beacons of light and hope for all freedom-loving individuals, the darkness would be pushed further back.

Do spare a thought about us - the Venetian Institute (Istituto Venezie) - fighting this unknown battle in a far away corner of the world. And if in any way you, your company, your foundation, can support our struggle then do not hesitate to do so!
You can contact me personally at any time!

Yours sincerely in Liberty,

Giampietro Lea
Director, Venetian Institute

Donations to:
Account name: Venezie Institute
Lloyds TSB Bank plc - (United Kingdom)
BIC no: LOYDGB21025 / IBAN no: GB94 LOYD 3094 6502 4549 74

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