Bartolomeo Gerolamo Gradenigo

Bartolomeo Gerolamo Gradenigo (born October 25, 1754 in Venice , † April 1, 1828 in Venice) was the second mayor of Venice appointed by the French from February 1811 to August 1816, an office that at that time was called Podestà . He led the defense and supply operations during the blockade of Venice by the British fleet. When the French withdrew, he founded a provisional government in 1814 and remained mayor of the city for the first year and a half of Austrian rule. He was followed by Marco Molin in office.

Life

Bartolomeo Gerolamo Gradenigo came from the noble family Gradenigo di Rio Marin, i.e. the branch ( ramo ) of the family that had its ancestral home on the Rio Marin . In 1786 he married Laura Pesaro, daughter of the procurator Francesco and descendant of Doge Giovanni Pesaro (1658-1659).

In 1797 Napoleon occupied Venice, which came to Austria from 1798 to the end of 1805 and then returned to France until 1815. Between 1806 and 1814, the continental blockade prevented the port city of Venice from reviving. Since 1805 Venice belonged to the Kingdom of Italy , of which Napoleon was the head of state. The private fortunes were used to finance the war, most of the nobles found hardly any employment and were forced to use up their fortune and sell their art treasures. In 1797 there were only 962 patricians from 192 families, almost all of whom had lost their offices. The French were the corporations dissolve, as the Scuole . The number of parishes was reduced from 70 to 39, and most of the monasteries were dissolved. Sixty monasteries were closed and 24 churches desecrated. Gradenigo protested against the numerous, often unauthorized destruction, demolitions and renovations in the city.

On January 6, 1811, Napoleon wrote to Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais : “There is unrest in Venice. They stage useless religious scenes; arranges orders and carries out examples to end this turbulence. ”Two days later, Napoleon from the Tuileries issued the dismissal decree for the Podestà Daniele Renier . He was followed in February 1811 by Gradenigo, who had been assessore municipale or one of the Savi since 1808 .

From October 1813 to April 1814 the British fleet blocked the city, the population of which dropped from 150,000 in 1797 to 100,000. On October 6, 1813, Gradenigo asked every citizen to stock up on food supplies for six months, and the traders to fill their magazines. Little by little, numerous foods were exempted from all taxes in order to increase the influx; finally, on March 9, 1814, the price that the dealers were allowed to charge was completely released in many cases. In addition, the municipality tried to collect taxes in order to secure the financing of the defense measures, at the same time desertions occurred . Delays in payment could result in severe penalties in line with earlier laws of 1804 and a decree of 1811. In order to ensure that the poorest were supplied, the bakers had to hand over part of the bread. Within the beleaguered lagoon , the population was estimated to be 159,800, of which 115,000 lived in the city, 22,000 in Chioggia on the southern edge of the lagoon, 9,000 in Pellestrina and Malamocco , 4,000 on Murano and 9,000 on Burano and 800 on Vignole , Treporti and the surrounding islands. The Polizia di finanza , which took on control and monitoring tasks , comprised 350 guards.

On May 4, 1814, Gradenigo ordered a solemn procession and a thanksgiving service to mark the end of the siege. The war ended with the Treaty of Fontainebleau and Napoleon was banished. Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais signed the Schiarino-Rizzino Convention . On this basis, the Austrians were able to return while Gradenigo ran a provisional government. When the French withdrew, there were demonstrations in front of the Napoleon statue; She was taken to San Giorgio Maggiore at 5 a.m. the next day . The arsenal was destroyed in many places, trade was paralyzed and could not be revived at first, even through free trade privileges. Thousands left the city, in 1818 Venice had only 84,000 inhabitants.

The bronze quadriga of St. Mark's Basilica, hand-colored photograph by Carlo Naya from before 1882

Prince Henry XV Reuss zu Greiz formally took over the city government for Austria on April 20, 1814. Heinrich became the first governor general of Venice until 1816 . On December 13th he had the bronze quadriga put up again at St. Mark's Basilica . After the end of Napoleonic rule, Gradenigo traveled to Vienna to show the emperor the devotion of the Venetians.

Remarks

1. ↑ Piero D'Angiolini, Claudio Pavone (ed.): Guida generale degli archivi di Stato italiani , Volume 4, Rome 1994, p. 1119.
2. ^ Filippo Nani Mocenigo: Del dominio napoleonico a Venezia (1806-1814). Merlo, Venice 1896.
3. ^ Il Comune di Venezia nel Triennio 1860, 1861, 1862: relazione del Podesta Conte Pier Luigi Bembo , Venice 1863, p. 8.
4. ↑ Pompeo Mangiarotti: Giornale che contiene quanto e accaduto di militare e politico in Venezia e circondario durante l'assedio cominciato col giorno 3 otobre 1813 e terminato nel 19 April 1814 , Venice 1814, p. 54.
5. ↑ Pompeo Mangiarotti: Giornale che contiene quanto e accaduto di militare e politico in Venezia e circondario durante l'assedio cominciato col giorno 3 otobre 1813 e terminato nel 19 April 1814 , Venice 1814, p. 53.
6. ↑ Fabio Mutinelli: Annali delle province Venete dall'anno 1801 al 1840 , Venice 1843, p. 194.
7. ↑ Margaret Plant: Venice: Fragile City, 1797–1997, 2001, p. 78.
8. ↑ Margaret Plant: Venice: Fragile City, 1797-1997 , 2001, p. 80.
9. ↑ Fabio Mutinelli: Annali delle province Venete dall'anno 1801 al 1840 , Venice 1843, p. 105.

predecessor	Office	successor
Daniele Renier	Mayor of Venice 1811–1816	Marco Molin