Villa Belmont

Background
In Christopher Moore's novel The Serpent of Venice, the Villa Belmont serves as a prominent location for a few of his story's critical plot twists. Belmont appears first in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which Moore used as source material for his own similarly named book. How the estate is depicted varies in some ways between the two stories, but is clearly meant to represent the same location.

Merchant of Venice
In The Merchant of Venice, Belmont is the residence of Portia and her friend and help, Nerissa; her father having died an indeterminable amount of time before the story begins. The distance from Venice to Belmont is greater in this play than in Moore's novel, and we know it sits on a river from Lorenzo's exclamation of "How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!" (5.1.54). In Merchant Belmont represents the happy resolution of the story where the characters go to celebrate their good fortune after the victorious court ruling in Venice.

Serpent of Venice
Quite opposite from in the play, the Belmont in The Serpent of Venice serves as a background for heinous events and represents oppression and deceit. Brabantio, his daughter Portia, and her lady-in-waiting of sorts, Nerissa, reside in the estate at the opening of the novel, with Brabantio being murdered shortly after. The elder daughter, Desdemona, left her family and escaped Belmont to marry the Moor, Othello. Even after Brabantio's death, however, he was still able to inflict his will on the younger daughter, Portia by way of his "test" to select her suitor.

Features worth noting
1) In the novel, Belmont is the estate owned by the senator, Brabantio. It is situated on its own private island, and therefor can only be reached by boat, usually a hired gondolier. Comparatively, the Belmont described in The Merchant of Venice, is located on a river bank.

2) Serpent gives a very detailed description of the family crest adorning the top of the front door to the estate. The coat of arms is made of marble and showcases the foot of a man inlaid in gold, trampling a jade serpent, even as the fangs of the serpent bite the heel [of the foot]. Inscribed is the Latin phrase "Nemo me impune lacessit," which translates to "No one attacks me with impunity." Brabantio claims the crest has been in his family for over four hundred years.

The Real Belmont
Since the sixteenth century, when Shakespeare penned The Merchant of Venice, there has been great discussion over whether Belmont is a real, geographical place. The two main stances on the issue are:

1) Belmont is likely fictional and most probably just the name of an Italian city that Shakespeare had heard thrown around at some point.

OR

2) Belmont represents an actual location that Shakespeare was knowledgeable about, but having the name or even the country changed for the play.

Belmonte, Calabro
There is speculation that perhaps the Belmont in both play and novel is actually meant to be Belmonte, Calabro in Calabria, located in southern Italy. See for more information and history.



Villa Foscari
According to the essay written by Dr. Noemi Magri, entitled Places in Shakespeare: Belmont and thereabouts, the real version of Villa Belmont is the Villa Foscari, located ten minutes outside of Venice, Italy. "Villa Foscari was the country residence of one of the most illustrious aristocratic families of Venice. For many centuries the Foscari had held important offices and at the same time, like most patricians, they were engaged in trading and had accumulated a considerable fortune. Francesco Foscari was the Doge of Venice from 1423 to 1457." (Magri pp.3).

More reading on Villa Foscari at



Events
In The Serpent of Venice, there are several key scenes that take place within the Belmont Estate - none of which are pure in nature. From murder to deceit, and everything in-between, the Villa is not a place of happiness, nor comfort for any of the story's characters.

Fool's End
First thing we encounter in the novel is the luring of Pocket, or the Fool, to his intended demise at Belmont. Plotted against by Brabantio, Antonio the merchant, and Iago the villain, the fool seems to have little chance of making it out of the situation alive. After being poisoned, Pocket is chained to a wall in the bottom of the cellar, and thereafter "walled in" by treacherous Brabantio. Entombed in brick, the small, wet space becomes his prison for days as he is left to die. Not long after the wall is completed, Pocket hears chilling screams and sounds from the other side. He later discovers his captor was murdered just outside where he was trapped. Also during this time, we are vaguely introduced to Viv, who is initially thought to be a mermaid. She visits Pocket frequently - wounding, drugging him with her venom, and having "her" way with him. Finally Viv frees Pocket and takes him away from Belmont to safety.

The Courtship
Before Brabantio's untimely death, the senator had devised a test of sorts to determine who his daughter Portia would take as a husband. Extremely displeased with Desdemona's decision to leave Venice and wed Othello, he had wanted to insure that his youngest took a "worthy" suitor. The test consisted of three caskets, which were kept under lock and key in a room within Belmont. Potential suitors traveled to the Villa from near and far for the chance to marry fair Portia. The lawyers would unlock the room only for the test, and watched over things carefully.

Trickster
Driven by the desire for revenge against the men who aimed to kill him, Pocket sneaks into Belmont one night with the intention of killing Portia in her sleep. Even after Nerissa turns a blind eye to his murderous plot, the Fool decides against ending her life. Instead, Pocket uses his skills to break into the special room housing the gold, silver, and lead caskets, and rigs the test so that there can be no suitor chosen - least of all Bassanio, who is being used as a pawn by Antonio and Iago in their plan to rise to power.

Conspirators
Towards the end of the novel, Pocket returns to Villa Belmont once more to confer with Nerissa. They agree on a plan to be carried out at the court hearing regarding Antonio and Shylock's bond. Portia is unaware they plan to undermine her own effort to save Antonio from the forfeit calling for a pound of his flesh.

Occupants of Belmont
Brabantio

Portia

Nerissa

Desdemona (formerly lived at Belmont)