Francesco Loredan

Francesco Loredan

Francesco Loredan (born February 9, 1685 in Venice ; † May 19, 1762 ibid) was the 116th Doge of Venice . He ruled from 1752 to 1762.

family

The Loredan were a widespread family that had already provided two doges, Pietro and Leonardo . At the time of Francesco's election, the family's wealth in Venice was legendary, they owned several palaces, such as the Palazzo di San Stefano, the Palazzo Loredan-Cini on the Grand Canal, the Palazzo Loredan / Farsetti and the Cà Loredan (also called Palazzo Loredan del Ambasciadore) on the Grand Canal, which Francesco had rented to the Austrian ambassador against advance payment of the total rent for 29 years and the obligation to restore and maintain the palace.

Life

Francesco, eldest of eight sons of Andrea Loredan and Caterina Grimani , was a direct descendant of Leonardo Loredan from the branch of San Stefano. He entered politics early and was for a long time Savio del Consiglio . Although he was an associate ambassador at Kaiser I. Franz and Karl Theodor of Bavaria been appointed, but never left Venice in this function. In other state offices, too, he never attracted attention because of his special achievements.

Francesco remained unmarried and had no children.

The Doge's Office

Loredan was elected Doge in the first ballot on March 18, 1752, 11 days after his predecessor's death. The Venetians used the time of the interregnum for their mocking pasquinates about him as a possible candidate. After the election he lived with his brother and sister-in-law in the Doge's Palace , which he lavishly furnished according to his estate inventory. He himself led a luxurious life with a large number of personal servants, but was also generous in distributing donations to the people and foundations to the church, as well as in awarding gold and silver oselle . This waste of wealth led to a total debt of around 120,000 ducats, which he could just pay off with his remaining assets of 132,000 ducats after his death .

Domestically, his dogat was characterized by hard disputes between conservatives and a counter-faction trying to bring about internal reforms. As is usually the case in Venice, the conservatives prevailed, the leaders of the reform party went to prison or went into exile. Loredan himself stayed out of the clashes and eventually sided with the victorious party.

In foreign policy there were disputes with the Republic of Ragusa as well as a continuation of the violent tensions between Venice and the Holy See , which only began with the election of a Venetian from the house of Rezzonico as Pope Clement XIII. ended. Clemens honored the Doge with the award of the Golden Rose .

Canaletto, The Bucentaur in front of the Doge's Palace

Economically, the republic experienced a brief boom, as the Venetians, because of their neutrality in the Seven Years' War , were able to trade almost unrivaled in Europe and were even able to recapture their top position in the lucrative trade in pepper for a short time.

Culturally, Venice experienced a heyday with festivals and a carnival lasting several months . During this time, Casanova was locked up in the notorious lead chambers for suspicious activities , from which he managed his spectacular escape . The atmosphere of this time is reproduced in color and detail in the pictures by Pietro Longhi , Francesco Guardi , Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Rosalba Carriera .

dig

The Doge died on May 19, 1762 and was initially buried in silence. His death was hidden from the Venetians in order not to disturb the solemnity of the feast of the Ascension of Christ . The burial in the family grave in San Zanipolo and the official funeral ceremonies did not take place until May 25th and cost the impressive sum of 13,674.14 ducats.

literature

• Andrea da Mosto: I dogi di Venezia. Florence 2003, ISBN 88-09-02881-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kurt Heller: Venice: Law, Culture and Life in the Republic. Böhlau, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-205-99042-0 , p. 809.
2. ↑ Jacques Casanova de Seingalt: Histoire de ma fuite des prisons de la République de Venise qu'on appelle les Plombs. Ecrite a Dux en Boheme l'année 1787 . Leipzig 1788
3. ^ Andrea da Mosto: I dogi di Venezia. Florence 2003, ISBN 88-09-02881-3 , p. 495.

predecessor	Office	successor
Pietro Grimani	Doge of Venice 1752–1762	Marco Foscarini