Origins

There's one thing for sure : we all originate from Veneto in a recent past ( we come from Slavony before). All the Schiavons I've contacted, in France, Canada, Brazil and USA have one thing in common : a Venetian ancestor.

And although Venitians were united with Italy only in 1866 and that they belonged politically to several other countries, they always were of the Venetian ones. The proof is that their language was never faded whatever the governments; And that even if Schiavon or Schiavoni had a Croatian-Dalmatian or Slavon origin, they are not less Venitians. Their ancestors had certainly another Dalmatian name. But the name Schiavon was born in Venice and is, for my part, Venitian. See: Te Venet (Venitian) language.

According to a public statistic compilation, the name Schiavon is very rare around the world. The largest group of Schiavon is located north of Italy, with 2500 families. Following in order are France (Haute Garonne and Provence), Brazil (south), the USA (Florida and California), Australia (New South Wales), Canada (Quebec and British Colombia) and Switzerland (Geneva). All these locations are home to at least 50 families each, a total of approximately 2800 names. I've concluded that most of the Schiavons prefer warm places, except for a few braves and me who chose Canada and its harsh winters.

I now present you the family cradle : The Veneto, north of Italy, between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, the nest which gave birth to the Arts, and gave us the Schiavons.


SCHIAVONI-SCHIAVONE-SCLAVON-ESCLAVON-SLAVONIAN


by Adam S. Eterovich CFU 900 www.croatians.com

Croatia and Croatians were known in the West and New World as Schiavoni, Schiavone, Schiavona, Sclavons, Esclavon and Slavonian for over 1000 years; those from Dubrovnik were known as Ragusans. The Venetian-Italians called their Dalmatian and Istrian subjects Schiavoni or Slavonians (...)

From the earliest days of the Republic, Venice had trade links with the coastal regions of “Schiavonia” (Dalmatia) across the Adriatic. By 1420 Venetian rule was permanently established in Dalmatia down to but not including the Republic of Dubrovnik, and many of the “Schiavoni” came to live in Venice. By the mid 15th Century the Schiavoni colony had grown considerably and the State gave permission for them to found a confraternity. The colony was well established in the Castello District of Venice.

In the Castello District there is the the dock next to Piazza San Marco-the Riva degli Schiavoni (Croatian-Dalmatians) and the Schola Degli Schiavoni or Guild Hall of the Slavonians that is today a museum. This Guild Hall was the meeting place of Dalmatian-Venetian merchants, artisans and mariners. Renaissance paintings hang in the hall, including those by Carpaccio the Istrian. Istria is in Croatia.
Marco Polo is buried in San Lorenzo church in the Castello District. During refurbishment in 1592, however, his sarcophagus disappeared and a number of paintings 'dispersed'. The church was built on the foundations of two earlier churches, dating from 850 and the late 12th Century. Marco Polo is Croatian and was born on the Island of Korcula, Dalmatia, Croatia. See: Eterovich, Adam S. Marco Polo Croatian Adventurer. San Carlos. Calif.: Ragusan Press, 1987.
John Cabot: On the corner of the Rio di Sant'Anna and Riva dei Sette Matiri in the Castello District is the house of the Cabot family, the family of navigators who discovered North America while looking for Cathay in the service of the English King. Cabot actually had two houses in the Castello; he was not born in Venice, but naturalized as he had lived in the Territories of Venice. I believe he was from Dalmatia. See: Tassini, G. Curiosite Veneziane. Venice, 1990. The author states that the Cabot's lived in the Castello District of Venice and goes on to say that in the 15th and 16th century this was the Croatian quarter of Venice.

Guild Hall of the Slavonians--Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni

The scuola or fraternity in the Castello was the guildhall of the Dalmatian-Croatians (Slavonians-Schiavoni) who ran it, among other purposes, as a kind of merchants and seamen’s institute for the benefit of visiting Dalmatians. The Venetian scuole were not designed for merriments and banquetings as the halls belonging to the Livery Companies of London were, but rather devotion and religion. Both went in for good works, though (the London Companies still do, together with the merriments and banquetings), and the Dalmatians, who had done well out of their trading in Venice, commissioned Carpaccio to decorate their hall for them (Carpaccio was Istrian). Around 1501-02 Carpaccio received a commission to create a group of canvases for the headquarters of the confraternity, the Scuola degli Schiavoni; the brotherhood was given this name because its members were Dalmatians, either resident in Venice or merchants, sailors and artisans working there. Built after the Council of Ten passed the legislation governing the institution of confraternities in 1431, on a piece of land belonging to the monasteries of the Hospitalers near the Hospital of Santa Caterina and the church of San Giovanni del Tempio, the building still houses Carpaccio's paintings illustrating episodes from the life of the confraternity's patron saints, Jerome, George and Triphun. In 1551, when the building was restored, the paintings were transferred from the first floor hall to the ground floor. There are also two paintings that are not part of this cycle, the Agony in the Garden and the Calling of Matthew, dated 1502. The seven paintings are: Vision of St Augustine; St Jerome and the Lion; Funeral of St Jerome; St George and the Dragon; Triumph of St George; Baptism of the Selenites; Daughter of Emperor Gordian Exorcised by St Triphun. Their patron saint is St. George of dragon-slaying fame, and so much of their art depicts his exploits. His most famous deed is featured in this sculpture over the entryway. Inside, there is a famous painted sequence by Carpaccio, showing events in the lives of Sts. George, Jerome and Trifon. While the relief of St. George dates from the mid-16th century, it is surmounted by a relief of Sts. John the Baptist and Catherine that dates from the mid-14th century.

Riva degli Schiavoni-Dock of the Slavonians

The Riva degli Schiavoni is next to the plaza of San Marco in Venice. The sweeping promenade that forms the southern quayside of Castello was named after the traders from Dalmatia (Schiavonia) who used to moor their boats and barges here. For those who arrive in Venice by water, this long spectacular introduction to the charms of the city. At its western end, close to Piazza San Marco, the broad promenade teems during the day. The Riva degli Schiavoni has always been busy with boats. To this day you will find carved into the stone on the dock: Island of Brac, Hvar and other Dalmatian towns and islands. The Schiavoni were the Slavonians, or Dalmatians-Croatians (hence the Latin title), who traded with Venice, parts of their country being under Venetian domination for long periods. A well known historic drawing of the Riva degli Schiavoni listed it as: Prospectus a Columna S. Marci ad Ripam Dalmatarum vulgo de Schiavoni. ref:Adam S. Eterovich www.croatians.com

Venesia