Francesco Dandolo

Francesco Dandolo's coat of arms

Francesco Dandolo (* around 1258 ; † October 31, 1339 in Venice ) was the 52nd Doge of Venice . He ruled from 1329 to 1339. With him began Venice's policy of expanding its territory to the mainland, the Terra ferma.

family

The Dandolo family played an important role in the history of Venice from the 12th to the 15th centuries. It has been documented since the 11th century, but it does not belong to the so-called old families ( case vecchie ), i.e. to the list of families that can be traced back to the founding of the Doganate of Veneto. They provided a total of four doges: In addition to Francesco, the doges Giovanni Dandolo , Andrea Dandolo and Enrico Dandolo . Two women in the family were married to Dogen, Giovanna Dandolo to Pasquale Malipiero and Zilia Dandolo to Lorenzo Priuli .

Life

Dandolo was one of the most successful diplomats in Venice. For a long time he was the ambassador of Popes Clement V and John XXII. at the court of Avignon . Dandolo was nicknamed cane (dog). He was married to Elisabetta Contarini and had three children.

The Doge's Office

During his reign there were the first skirmishes between the Venetians and the Turks, Venice's rivals for supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean for centuries.

Monument to Doge Francesco Dandolo.

The arguments with Mastino della Scala , the gentleman of Verona, who continued the territorial policy of his uncle Cangrande with the same aggressiveness, were much more violent . Venice saw itself threatened by its appropriation of the cities of Feltre , Belluno and Vicenza , but only became active when the Veronese began to control river trade, set up salt pans and finally wanted to set up a trading post in Chioggia . In 1336 there was a coalition between Venice and the cities of Florence , Perugia , Siena and Bologna , which also saw themselves threatened by Verona .

In contrast to the usual procedure at the time, Venice renounced an army of mercenaries , but obliged its citizens between 20 and 60 years to serve in the war. In this way the Serenissima managed to form a force of 40,000 people. The battles took place over the entire territory of the Scaliger , with varying fortunes for the parties. In the end, Mastino had to admit defeat. In March 1337, after lengthy negotiations, agreements were reached between the parties in which the old lords got their towns and lands back. Venice received trade guarantees for the areas concerned. Mastino , the loser in every respect, called on Emperor Ludwig the Bavarians as a mediator for help, who however took the side of the Doge and also gave him the rights over the city of Mestre .
On January 24, 1339, the peace was solemnly sealed in St. Mark's Basilica. Treviso was now part of the sovereignty of Venice, Florence received some castles but not the city of Lucca , which led to upset in Florence and was one of the causes of the later tensions between the Serenissima and Florence.

Dandolo died on All Saints' Day in 1339. He was buried in the Frari Church .

literature

• Andrea da Mosto: I dogi di Venezia. Florence 2003. ISBN 88-09-02881-3
• Claudio Rendina: I dogi. Storia e segreti. Rome 1984, ISBN 88-8289-656-0

Web links

Commons : Francesco Dandolo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Giovanni Soranzo	Doge of Venice 1329–1339	Bartolomeo Gradenigo