Bucentaur

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Bucentaur the state barge used by the Doge of Venice for the Marriage of Chancery on Ascension Day.

The name comes ultimately from Italian bucentoro, and may be taken from the figurehead of the vessel, representing a mythical creature, half man and half ox, perhaps from Greek bous ‘ox’ + kentauros ‘centaur’. Alternatively, bucentoro may be from Venetian Italian, literally ‘barge of gold’.