87
Although we do not know why he did this, it may be
assumed that this was an attempt to avoid payment of
insurance or to intentionally conceal valuable cargo in
case of a pirate attack. It is possible, however, that the
real reason was different, or there may have been several
reasons.
Even though one may say that the ship’s story ended
with its sinking, this was not in fact the case. The story
continued to rapidly unfold with the objective of ur-
gently salvaging the sunken goods and ship’s rigging and
gear. Only one day after its sinking, Venetian notaries
had issued documents on cession, i.e., transfer of claims
from the owners of the goods to the insurers, with the
aim of insurance collection. All of those who happened
to be in Venice at the time went to a notary as soon as
possible, and those who arrived from farther distances
signed their cession even months after the shipwreck.
The procedure to salvage and settle claims began with
preliminary negotiations and an assembly of all of those
who were in any way impacted or could in some way
contribute to resolution of the situation. At such an
assembly, probably held on 11 or 12 November, three re-
presentatives were selected, Lorenzo Barbarigo, Lorenzo
Girardi and Girolamo Pianella, who were authorized to
represent all interested parties. Pietro della Moneta was
charged by them to see to the organization of the salvage
campaign. Given the sensitivity of the ship’s cargo, there
was no time to wait, so della Moneta quickly traveled
to Zadar, visiting the office of the Zadar prefect (Venet.
conte
) Giacomo Pesaro, where he was warned that he
would have to pay a certain tax on the salvaged goods.
A certain Manoli, known as ‘Fregata’, originally from
Crete, took on the salvage operation. Similar operations
had been conducted for centuries before, and Stjepan
Vekarić traced them in the State Archives in Dubrov-
nik. This Greek sponge-harvester and coral-hunter was
not daunted by the cold and restless sea, and his pri-
me motivation was the pledged one third of the value
of the salvaged goods and the rumours of something
valuable stored in Fazanić’s chest. So Manoli diligently
salvaged the sunken cargo throughout December, and
by the beginning of January 1584, he tracked down the
small chest containing gems and the unregistered scroll
with similar content. The salvage operation continued
for several more weeks, and on 26 January Manoli so-
ught payment for his services in Zadar. Obviously his
intention was not to salvage the entire cargo and ship’s
armaments, but rather to do just enough work to earn
himself a decent profit.
The salvaged goods, probably held on the rocks of
the islet during the operation, were threatened by the
Uskoks of Senj. This is why, at the request of the three
representatives of all interested parties, on 7 January
the Senate approved the deployment of a galley or fusta
to defend the position and guarantee the safety of the
extracted items.
Procedura spašavanja i namirivanja potraživanja započi-
njala je preliminarnim dogovorima i skupštinom svih koji
su se na bilo koji način našli pogođeni ili su na neki način
mogli doprinijeti rješavanju situacije. Na takvoj skupštini,
održanoj vjerojatno 11. ili 12. studenoga, odabrana su tri
predstavnika, Lorenzo Barbarigo, Lorenzo Girardi i Giro-
lamo Pianella, ovlaštena za zastupanje svih zainteresiranih
strana. Pietro della Moneta dobio je od njih zadatak da
se pobrine o organizaciji akcije spašavanja. S obzirom na
osjetljivost dijela brodskog tereta, vremena za čekanje nije
bilo, pa se della Moneta ubrzo našao u Zadru, u kancela-
riji zadarskog kneza (mlet.
conte
) Giacoma Pesara, gdje je
upozoren da će za spašenu robu morati platiti određeni
porez.
Akciju spašavanja preuzeo je na sebeManoli zvan ‘Fregata’,
rodom s Krete. Slične su se akcije provodile već stoljećima
ranije, a Stjepan Vekarić ušao im je u trag i u Državnom
arhivu u Dubrovniku. Grčkog spužvara i koraljara oči-
gledno nije pokolebalo hladno i nemirno more, a najbolja
motivacija bila mu je obećana trećina vrijednosti spašene
robe i priča o vrijednom teretu pohranjenom u Fazaniće-
voj škrinji. Stoga je Manoli tijekom čitavog prosinca mar-
ljivo spašavao potonuli teret, te do početka siječnja 1584.
ušao u trag kovčežiću s draguljima i neprijavljenom za-
vežljaju sličnoga sadržaja. Operacija spašavanja potrajala
je još nekoliko tjedana, a 26. siječnja Manoli je u Zadru
zatražio naplatu svojih usluga. Očigledno je kako njegova
namjera nije bila spasiti čitav teret i brodsko naoružanje,
već obaviti onoliko posla koliko je bilo dovoljno za dobru
zaradu.
Spašenoj robi koja se vjerojatno tijekom akcije pohranji-
vala na položene stijene otočića prijetila je opasnost od
senjskih uskoka. Stoga je na zamolbu triju spomenutih
predstavnika svih zainteresiranih strana 7. siječnja Senat
odobrio da se na mjesto brodoloma pošalje galija ili fusta
koja će braniti poziciju i jamčiti sigurnost izvađenih pred-
meta.
Kad su dragulji pronađeni i izvađeni, očigledno pod stro-
gim nadzorom, kovčežić i zavežljaj prebačeni su u Zadar.
Tek nakon višetjednih pregovora sa zadarskim vlastima
preneseni su uVeneciju i privremeno pohranjeni uKovni-
ci sv. Marka. Otvaranje obje pošiljke uslijedilo je 23. veljače
1584. godine pred bilježnikom Pietrom Parteniom. Tom
su činu prisustvovali predstavnici dviju skupina vlasnika
robe, Antonio di Giovanni i Carlo Zanfort. Iz kovčežića
i škrinjice u zavežljaju izvađeni su biseri, dijamanti i sma-
ragdi, dijelom neobrađeni, a dijelom umetnuti u privjeske
i prstenje. Četiri dana kasnije dovršena je procjena njihove
vrijednosti, a konačan iznos od 7243 dukata dvostruko je
nadmašivao iznos od 3600 dukata na koji su dragulji bili
osigurani.
Preostala spašena roba, među kojom i dosta tkanina, do
travnja je u Zadru čekala na povratak u Veneciju. Stanje
robe nakon toliko mjeseci ležanja u skladištima moralo
je biti prilično loše. Problem vjerojatno nije bio u porezu
koji je trebalo platiti, već u procjeni vrijednosti izvađenih
