Bernardo Bembo

Painting by Hans Memling , possibly Bernardo Bembo, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp)

Bernardo Bembo (born October 19, 1433 , † May 28, 1519 ) was a prominent statesman of the Republic of Venice and father of the famous humanist Pietro Bembo .

Life

Little is known about the youth of Bembos, whose father was called Nicolò. He first studied philosophy at the University of Padua and received his doctorate on November 10, 1455 at the age of twenty-two. He then completed a law degree there and became a doctor of "both rights" (ecclesiastical and secular law).

From 1468 he was often active as an envoy for his hometown. In 1468/69 he was commissioned with a legation trip to the court of King Henry IV of Castile. In July 1471 he went on a delicate mission to see Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy. Despite numerous difficulties, he carried out this assignment with great success; the following year, Burgundy and Venice formed an alliance (Treaty of Péronne of June 18, 1472). Bembo stayed at Karl's court for three years; towards the end of 1474 he returned to Venice. At the beginning of 1475 he undertook his first legation trip to Florence , where he frequented the circles of humanistic scholars there and made friends with the leading statesman Lorenzo il Magnifico from the Medici family . This friendship proved to be very beneficial in the long term, because Bembo subsequently made use of his position as a diplomat to obtain perks - including loans - from Lorenzo for himself and his relatives. In 1478 he was again sent to Florence as an envoy and strongly advocated a lasting alliance between the two republics. The famous humanist Marsilio Ficino was one of his Florentine friends .

From 1481 to 1483 Bembo Podestà (Lord Mayor) of the city of Ravenna , which at that time belonged to the Venetian area. There he had Dante's grave restored.

After Pope Sixtus IV imposed the interdict on the Republic of Venice on June 23, 1483 , the Venetian government sent embassies to the European courts to explain their position. Bembo was entrusted with one of these missions; he had to go to England. In October 1488 he was elected Podestà of Bergamo . He held this office from 1489 to 1490. From 1502 to 1503 he was Podestà of Verona .

In addition to his external work in the civil service, Bembo was also active in domestic politics and held important offices. From October 1492 he is attested as a member of the Senate of Venice. On October 1, 1469 he was first elected to the Council of Ten , one of the most important bodies of the republic.

Bembo was married to Elena Marcello for the second time. He had several children with her, including the later famous Pietro.

literature

• Franco Mazzini: Bernardo Bembo . In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Vol. 8, Rome 1966, pp. 103-109
• Marino Berengo : Il governo veneziano a Ravenna . In: Dante Bolognesi (ed.): Ravenna in età veneziana , Ravenna 1986 ( online ).