Procession of the Doge to the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, with a View of Venice, ca. 1565 1697

Jost Amman’s “Procession of the Doge to the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, with a View of Venice,” made around 1565, captures the city's grand ritual. Dominating the scene is the Doge's procession, where the Bucintoro, the state barge, is the main symbol. The Doge's act of casting a ring into the sea represents Venice's symbolic marriage to the waters, a claim to its maritime power and destiny. This imagery evokes ancient rituals of dominance, mirroring how Roman emperors asserted power through conquest and display. The sea, a recurring motif, appears in ancient Greek myths, symbolizing both chaos and the source of life. Here, the controlled procession tames the sea, much like Poseidon's command over the waters. But the sea is uncontrollable, wild and chaotic, as is the subconscious. The ring is offered to the waters in an attempt to create order; however, it is an illusory conquest because the sea remains. The subconscious is a vast body of water; images and symbols are the bucintoro of the mind. Such symbols persist, reflecting a deep, ongoing human need to negotiate our place in the world, blending tradition with the ever-changing tides of time.