The Most Serene Prince Antoniotto Adorno (1340 – Finale Ligure, 1398) was the 6th

doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

and rose four times to this supposedly lifelong position, making him the person most often elected to the Doge office in the history of the republic.

Early career

Antoniotto was the son of Adornino Adorno and Nicolosia della Rocca. Like most of the previous doges, Antoniotto was a merchant by trade; he was also reputed to be well-versed in law and literature and he is known to have pleaded in at least one case as an attorney. He began his political career as the governor (vicar) of Chivari in the early 1370s. In 1373, he took part in the successful invasion of the

kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...

aboard his own private galley.

Four times in office

First dogeship

On June 17, 1378, his partisans stormed the dogal palace and forced Domenico di Campofregoso to relinquish his position. Antonietto was elected doge by popular acclamation but, the same evening, his co-conspirator,

Nicolò Guarco Nicolò Guarco (c.1325 in Parodi – c.1385 in Lerici) was a Genoese statesman who became the 7th doge of the Republic of Genoa and led the Republic through the War of Chioggia against Venice. Early life Son of a merchant, Nicolò appears first ...

compelled him to resign and became the new doge in his place. Antoniotto had to leave the city and find refuge at the court of the Viscontis of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, sworn enemies of the Republic. He remained in exile in

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

until April 1383. Once he had returned to Genoa, he quickly started to conspire to oust doge Guarcò. The same year he managed to force his former accomplice out of office but he failed to win the ensuing elections; he was, however, allowed to remain in Genoa and entered the council of the Ancients. On June 15, 1384, at the death of doge Leonardo Montaldo, Antonietto was finally elected doge. One of his first decisions was to have Niccolò Guarco imprisoned in

Lerici Lerici ( lij, Lerxi, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of La Spezia in Liguria (northern Italy), part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia, southeast of La Spezia. It is known as the place ...

Second dogeship

On the diplomatic stage Antoniotto Adorno pursued a strategy of appeasement in accord with the mercantile interests of the city. He gave refuge to the controversial pope

Urban VI Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...

in 1386, and the following year he obtained a peace treaty with the Aragonese king and mounted with him an assault against Barbary raiders under the command of his brother, Raffaele. In June 1388, the Christian fleet conquered

Jerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 a ...

and in 1390 another expedition benefiting from French and English support was launched against

Mahdia Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse. Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located ...

. After over a year of siege, the doge and the sultan of Tunis came to terms and the latter agreed to stop offensive actions against Genoese trade. Doge Adorno also strove to maintain the peace in Genoa and in the colonies. He broke an agreement between the embittered maona of Cyprus and the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the island. However, despite his best effort, the Genoese political life remained highly volatile. On August 3, 1390, he was forced out of office by the armed partisans of

Giacomo Fregoso Giacomo Fregoso or Campofregoso (1340–1420) was a statesman who became the 10th doge of Genoa, doge Republic of Genoa, of Genoa. Youth Giacomo's father, Domenico di Campofregoso, Domenico Fregoso, was elected doge of Genoa in 1370. Giacom ...

, son of the former doge Domenico di Campofregoso. But Giacomo was bookish and seemed to have little appetite for politics, so on April 6, 1391, Antoniotto came back to the dogal palace, took Giacomo to dinner, brought him home and assumed the dogeship anew.

Third dogeship

Antoniotto resumed his politics of appeasement in the region. On January 20, 1391, he brokered a peace treaty between Milan and its enemies,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. However, his failure to subdue the old rival neighbour, Savona, triggered a rebellion on June 15, 1392 and forced him to flee the city. Backed militarily by

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...

, he attempted to re-conquer his position but was defeated by the new doge,

Antoniotto Montaldo Antoniotto di Montaldo (1368 - 25 July 1398) was the doge of Genoa on two occasions between 1392 and 1394. Born in Ceranesi, the son of Leonardo Montaldo, who had also been doge, he was elected as doge on 16 June 1392 after his predecessor Antoni ...

Fourth dogeship

Despite this set back, he managed to force the new doge to give him the control of the city, albeit at the condition he would not try to regain his former office. Yet on September 3, 1394, Antoniotto Adorno secretly gathered an assembly and was elected doge for the fourth time. A new danger arose when, on November 17, 1394, confronted with internal strife and rather than remaining under Genoese domination, the neighbouring city of Savona gave itself to the

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

. Antoniotto confronted with the danger of the rise of a French-backed Savona, in his turn offered the sovereignty of Genoa to the king. Charles VI had entrusted his Ligurian expansion to his brother, Louis of Orléans. But the latter quickly arose hatred among the Genoese noblemen as he tried to manage directly the affairs of the city. A riot led by Antoniotto Adorno and

rapidly forced him to relinquish his new estate and on November 27, 1396, Antoniotto abandoned the dogeship to become governor in the name of the king.

End of life

On March 18, 1397, Antoniotto relinquished his position of governor and went into retirement on the estates of the marquis Del Carretto in Finale Ligure. There he contracted the plague and died on June 5, 1398.

Descent and titles

Antoniotto Adorno married twice, with Luchina Savignone then with Ginevra Doria, and had 15 children. Through his daughter Brigida, he is also the ancestor of the Pisan patrician families Adorni, Adornetto and Adorni Braccesi. Besides the dogeship, Antoniotto was also baron of the kingdoms of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, lord of Grimault,

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

Arroscia The Arroscia is an Italian river in the provinces of Imperia. and Savona. Geography The river rises from monte Frontè, in the comune of Mendatica, not far from the French border. The Arroscia flows east and receives several tributaries. It t ...

and

Scrivia The Scrivia, long, is a right tributary of the river Po, in northern Italy. It runs through Liguria, Piedmont, and Lombardy. Main tributaries * left hand: ** torrente Laccio; ** torrente Busalletta; ** torrente Traversa; ** rio San Rocco; * ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adorno, Antoniotto 1340 births 1398 deaths 14th-century Doges of Genoa 14th-century deaths from plague (disease)