Sebastiano Venier

Sebastiano Venier (painting by Tintoretto )

Sebastiano Venier (* around 1496; † March 3, 1578 in Venice ) was the 86th Doge of Venice from 1577 to 1578 . His brief reign was a time of peace following the victory of the Holy League over the Turks.

family

The Venier provided with Antonio Venier (1382–1400), Francesco Venier and Sebastiano Venier three doges, as well as 18 procurators and various admirals.

Life

Paolo Veronese : The Battle of Lepanto

Venier, younger of two sons of Moisè Venier and Elena Donà, showed an early interest in law in his youth and was considered an excellent lawyer without ever having obtained a degree.

In 1570 he was elected procuratore de ultra and at the end of the same year at the age of 74 he was elected admiral ( capitano generale da mar ). As the naval commander of the Venetians, his relationship with Don Juan d'Austria , the commander of the Spaniards, was marked by tension and mutual dislike.

He took part alongside Admiral Agostino Barbarigo in the Battle of Lepanto , in which the Holy League under Don Juan d'Austria defeated the Ottomans. In Venice he was venerated as the victor of Lepanto . However, the republic did not succeed in drawing permanent profit from its victory, as the Turks proved more successful in the subsequent peace negotiations.

Sebastiano Venier was married to Cecilia Contarini , with whom he had a daughter Elena.

The Doge's Office

Sebastiano Venier was unanimously elected Doge at the age of 81. The office caused him physical hardship, he was already a little deaf and his difficult and contentious temperament remained with him even as a doge. In 1577 he was given the golden rose by Pope Gregory XIII as a special honor . awarded.

After the fire of 1574, a second fire broke out in the upper floors of the Doge's Palace in 1578 , which once again wreaked havoc. The damage could not be repaired, so they thought of a new building, for which Palladio made a design. However, the supporters of this plan were unable to prevail against the strong conservative faction and the building was restored to its old form under the direction of Antonio da Ponte . For the painting of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, the Sala dello Scrutino, the Sala delle quattro Porte and the Sala del Collegio, a specially formed commission designed the image program. Ceilings and walls were lavishly decorated with paintings and stucco. The artists involved included Tintoretto , Palma Giovane , Veronese and the Zuccari brothers . One of the highlights of the new furnishings is Tintoretto's huge picture of paradise at the front of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio.

photos

Pietro Longhi Venetian family in front of the portrait of Doge Sebastiano Venier

• Tintoretto : Sebastiano Venier in armor and doge cloak in front of the panorama of the naval battle of Lepanto , Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
• Paolo Veronese : The Doge Sebastiano Venier, surrounded by Fides, Venezia, Justina and Saint Mark, around 1578 - 1582, votive picture, Sala del Collegio, Doge's Palace , Venice
• Andrea Vincentino: Portrait of the Doge, Museo Correr , Venice
• Unknown Venetian painter: Portrait of the Doge, Ambras Castle , Innsbruck
• Bust of Sebastiano Venier, victor of Lepanto. Marble bust, Doge's Palace

Tomb

San Zanipolo tomb

Sebastiano Venier was initially buried provisionally in the burial church of the Venier, Santa Maria degli Angeli in Murano , pending the erection of a suitable Doge's tomb by the family. But neither the family nor the republic went to great lengths to erect an appropriate monument to the victor of Lepanto. It was not until 1907 that the urn with his remains was transferred to San Zanipolo , the final resting place of many Doges, on the initiative of Pompeo Gherardo Molmenti .

The bronze statue of the Doge on the tomb is by Antonio dal Zotto.

literature

• Andrea da Mosto: I Dogi di Venezia. Florence 1983.
• Claudio Rendina: I Dogi. Storia e segreti. Rome 2003.

predecessor	Office	successor
Alvise Mocenigo I.	Doge of Venice 1577 - 1578	Nicolò da Ponte