Константинопол и неговите забележителности през XVI век в описанията на венецианските дипломати
Constantinople and its Sights Viewed by the Venetians durinf the 16th Century

Summary/Abstract: During the time of Suleyman the Magnificent the Venetians continued to visit the capital of the Ottoman Empire and their presence there was significant. Their diplomats, envoys and spies provided information about the situation there, the ottoman army, naval forces and the military campaigns against the Christians. In their reports there are some interesting details concerning the monuments and remarkable places in Constantinople, some of them extremely important for the condition of monuments such as Hagia Sophia and the Hippodromos in the early 16th century. The results of the examination of the diplomatic written sources of Venetian provenance reveal the names of two intellectuals – Pietro Zen and Benedetto Ramberti. Two works belong to them: one diplomatic report and one of the most famous printed works of the Venetian Renaissance – Libri tre delle cose dei Turchi. Other sources like the accounts of Giovan Maria Angiolello, Giovan Antonio Menavino and other Italian sources complete the image of Constantinople in the Italian writings. The analysis of the representation of Constantinople in these works shows the manner of composition of these texts: the image of the City on the Bosporus is more like the byzantine Constantinople than Istanbul – the Ottoman capital.

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