Agostino Barbarigo (3 June 1419 – 20 September 1501) was

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

from 1486 until his death in 1501. While he was Doge, the imposing

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

in the Piazza San Marco with its archway through which the street known as the Merceria leads to the Rialto, was designed and completed. A figure of the Doge was originally shown kneeling before the lion of Venice on the top storey below the bell but this was removed by the French in 1797 after Venice had surrendered to Napoleon. In 1495 he created an Italian coalition to push back

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

from Italy, which led to the

Battle of Fornovo The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km (19 miles) southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. It was fought as King Charles VIII of France left Naples upon hearing the news of the grand coalition assembled against him. Despite the numerical ...

during the French retreat from Italy. During his reign Venice gained several strongholds in

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to th ...

and annexed the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. His relationships with the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II were initially amicable, but they became increasingly strained starting from 1492, eventually leading to open war in 1499. The Venetian merchants in

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were arrested, while

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

n troops invaded

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

and reached Zara. The Venetian fleet was defeated at the

Battle of Zonchio The naval Battle of Zonchio ( tr, Sapienza Deniz Muharebesi, also known as the Battle of Sapienza or the First Battle of Lepanto) took place on four separate days: 12, 20, 22, and 25 August 1499. It was a part of the Ottoman–Venetian War of ...

, and the Republic lost its base in Lepanto. The latter was soon followed by Modone and

Corone Corone ( grc, Κορώνη, Korṓnē, crow) may refer to: * Koroni, also spelled Corone, a town in Greece * Corone (crow) In Greek and Roman mythology, Corone ( grc, Κορώνη, Korṓnē, crow ) is a young woman who attracted the atten ...

, which meant the loss of all the main intermediate stops for the Venetian ships sailing towards the Levante. Despite his personal opposition, in February 1499 Venice signed the Treaty of Blois, a military alliance with

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the time ...

against their long-standing rival, the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

. Barbarigo believed it to be a distraction from the Ottoman threat; a peace treaty was signed in 1503, which left Venice holding only

Nafplion Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in th ...

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and

Monemvasia Monemvasia ( el, Μονεμβασιά, Μονεμβασία, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. The island is connected t ...

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

. His dogaressa was Elisabetta Soranzo. His brother

Marco Barbarigo Marco Barbarigo (c. 1413 – August 14, 1486) was the 73rd Doge of Venice from 1485 until 1486. His nomination took place on a new staircase in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, on an axis with the Campanile of St. Mark and the Porta della C ...

preceded him as Doge but held office for less than a year; their tomb, originally in the church of the Carita, has been demolished. Part of it, a relief showing the "Resurrection of Christ" is in the

Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista The Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista is a confraternity building located in the San Polo ''sestiere'' of the Italian city of Venice. Founded in the 13th century by a group of flagellants it was later to become one of the five '' Scuole ...

, attributed to the workshop of Antonio Rizzo.

Popular culture

* Agostino Barbarigo appears as the doge-elect in the video game ''

Assassin's Creed II ''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's '' Assassin's Creed''. The g ...

''. Marco's short reign as Doge is ended when Ezio assassinates him. In Facebook game '' Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy'' it is discovered that Agostino became corrupt, and is subsequently killed by the Assassins on 20 September 1501 via a series of poison-coated letters.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbarigo, Agostino 1419 births 1501 deaths Agostino Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Italian Renaissance people 15th-century Doges of Venice 16th-century Doges of Venice