On the morning of May 12, 1797, Ludovico Manin entered the Great Council chamber inside the Doge's Palace in Venice.
Behind him hung Tintoretto's enormous Paradise. Outside, people crowded into St. Mark's Square. Across northern Italy, word had spread. Napoleon's armies were advancing toward the republic.
Manin had spent the previous eight years as doge of Venice. He was about to become its last.
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