Fra Alberto Jumps into a Canal and Is Paraded as a Wild Man

Fra Alberto’s flight into the Grand Canal becomes the prelude to a public unmasking: the friar who had passed himself off as the Angel Gabriel is transformed into a chained wild man and exhibited before Venice. His escape saves him from immediate capture by Madam Lisetta’s kinsmen, but it cannot restore the authority his deception depended on. Instead, it carries him into a spectacle in which the city recognizes and punishes the imposture.

Escape into the Canal

When Fra Alberto hears that the brothers-in-law have entered Madam Lisetta’s chamber, he understands what is happening and has no resource but flight. He opens a window overlooking the Grand Canal and throws himself into the water. The canal is deep, but he can swim; he reaches the opposite bank without injury and slips into an open house.

Inside, he begs a poor man to save his life, giving him an explanation for his nakedness and the hour. The man takes pity on him, puts him in his own bed, and tells him to wait there while he goes about his business. The host locks the door behind him. For the moment, concealment seems possible: Fra Alberto has escaped the chamber, crossed the canal, and found shelter. Yet the story soon makes clear that hiding is not the same as getting away.

The Host’s Bargain

The next morning, the host hears on the Rialto that the supposed Angel Gabriel had gone to lie with Madam Lisetta, had been surprised by her kinsmen, and had plunged into the canal. He recognizes the fugitive he has sheltered. Rather than surrender him immediately, he finds a way to make him pay: he demands fifty ducats to keep him from the lady’s relatives.

Fra Alberto offers to leave after paying, but his host tells him that departure alone will not secure his escape. The kinsmen, believing he is somewhere nearby, have set watches on every side, and he is likely to be recognized. The host proposes another route: Venice is holding a festival, with a hunt in St. Mark’s Place, where people bring costumed figures, including men dressed as bears or wild men. If Fra Alberto will submit to the disguise, the host can lead him into the crowd and take him away before anyone discovers who he is.

The plan reverses the friar’s earlier disguise. He had used the identity of an angel to deceive Madam Lisetta; now, to avoid recognition, he must accept a grotesque costume devised by someone else. Afraid of the kinsmen, he agrees, despite the indignity of the proposed escape.

A Public Unmasking

The host smears Fra Alberto with honey, covers him with down, puts a chain around his neck and a mask over his face, and gives him a large staff. He also places two dogs from the shambles in his other hand. Before bringing him out, the host sends someone to the Rialto to announce that anyone who wants to see the Angel Gabriel should come to St. Mark’s Place.

The announcement gathers a vast crowd: some follow the pair, while others come from the Rialto. The host leads Fra Alberto by the chain and ties him to a column on a raised place, apparently waiting for the hunt. The flies and gadflies torment the honey-smeared friar as the crowd looks on. The performance has gathered its audience, but its promised spectacle has not yet been disclosed.

When the place is full, the host removes the mask and presents the captive as the Angel Gabriel who supposedly descends from heaven at night to comfort Venetian ladies. The reveal makes the two disguises collide: the claim that once lent Fra Alberto false sanctity now identifies him before the crowd. Everyone recognizes him. The exposure is followed by a general outcry, scornful abuse, and filth thrown into his face. The man who had hidden behind a holy identity is made into the object of a deliberately degrading public show.

Removal and Aftermath

The punishment continues until news reaches Fra Alberto’s brethren. Half a dozen come out, unchain him, throw a gown over him, and carry him back to the convent while the crowd raises a general hue and cry behind them. The account does not confirm his death, but says that he is believed to have died in prison after a wretched life.

The episode’s sequence gives the escape its bitter irony. Fra Alberto’s swimming skill gets him safely across the canal, and the host’s scheme gets him past the watchers, but neither preserves his freedom or reputation. His attempt to conceal himself ends by drawing a crowd, and his false angelic persona returns as the announcement that brings the crowd together. The event closes not with a successful escape but with recognition, public shame, and confinement. Pampinea’s tale presents the exposure as fitting punishment for a man who was regarded as good while doing evil and who dared to feign himself the Angel Gabriel.