Giovanni Pesaro

Giovanni Pesaro

Giovanni Pesaro by Giusto Le Court

Giovanni Pesaro (born September 1, 1589 in Venice ; † September 30, 1659 there ) was the 103rd Doge of Venice . He ruled from 1658 to 1659.

family

The Pesaro originally came from the city of the same name on the Adriatic. They have only been proven in Venice since the 14th century. A famous member of the family was the bishop and commander of the papal fleet, Jacopo Pesaro , who defeated the Turks at the Battle of Santa Maura in 1502.

Life

Giovanni Pesaro had held a number of high offices before his election, he was ambassador to the Vatican , Savio and procurator . However, his reputation in the city had suffered over a trial accusing him of military incapacity during the Castro War . Although acquitted, his reputation remained damaged. His brother's way of life, who had been banned from the city and finally from the republic several times, also contributed to the family's negative reputation. In the previous elections he was also defeated several times, possibly also because of his papal attitude.

Pesaro, who began the construction of the Ca 'Pesaro palace , was the youngest of three sons of Vettore Pesaro and Elena Soranzo. His marriage to Lucia Barbarigo , sister of the procurator of San Marco Giovanni Barbarigo, had no descendants.

The Doge's Office

Pesaro was elected to the Doge's Office on April 8, 1658 at the age of 68 despite his malaria disease , when the republic was in disastrous economic conditions. As a result of the continuous shift in trade routes, Venice was in a marginal economic position, and trade hardly made any profits. The ongoing war with the Turks cost the state many human lives and huge sums of money. Due to the unreasonable politics of the republic, which under his predecessor Valier had arrogantly rejected an offer of peace by the sultan , the situation for Crete , the last relic of the once so glamorous maritime republic of Venice , which was exhausted by the years of wars and the mismanagement of the Venetian administration , has always been more threatening.

Tomb

Pesaro's tomb, photographed by Carlo Ponti († 1893) in the 1860s

The tomb for Giovanni Pesaro is in the Frari Church . For his tomb he had left his will 12,000 ducats. The huge, two-story tomb was erected between 1665 and 1669. It is by Baldassare Longhena , the sculptures are by Giusto Le Court, Michele Fabris , Melchior Barthel and Francesco Cavrioli.

literature

• Andrea da Mosto: I Dogi di Venezia. Florence 1983.
• Helmut Dumler: Venice and the Doges. Düsseldorf 2001.

Web links

Commons : Giovanni Pesaro  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Bertuccio Valier	Doge of Venice 1658 - 1659	Domenico II Contarini