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The flow of people to the Piazza was due, above all, to the events that
occurred there: as time passed an increase in institutions, administrative
affairs, the presence of nobles attending the Palace on various commissions,
the Maggior Consiglio (Great Council) meetings with the participation
of more than a thousand patricians, but also in "citizens" in different
administrative positions, all rendered it a bustling place for informal
meetings.
But the Piazza, according to oriental tradition, always abounded in small
businesses, which brought life to the kind of meetings between different
ranks, nationalities, bargaining and business.
Near St. Mark's, towards the Piazzetta and at the same time at Rialto,
announcements were read out drawing together many interested onlookers.
The hive of activity of the nearby port all around the Quay was another
source of attraction for the crowds.
It is a fact that, until the mid-1500s, there stood a "beccheria" (butcher's)
near the Library, which was quite out of place, and its incongruous presence
led to various attempts to close it. In the year 1500 there was an attempt
to "nationalize" the Piazza; by allocating areas and entire neighbourhoods
to foreigners and, on several occasions, attempts were made to remove
foreign presence from this trading area. A similar attempt was made to
eliminate and drive away activities that did not fit in with what was,
by now, the centre of the State, the centre of Government and the city's
place of glorification.
Nevertheless, a variety of small and more official trades were always
a feature of the Piazza, since here functions and events occurred so frequently
as to attract the entire city.
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