Elisabetta Grimani (died 31 August 1792 in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

) was the last

Dogaressa Dogaressa ( , , ) was the official title of the wife of the Doge of Venice. The title was unique for Venice: while the head of the Republic of Genoa were also called Doge, the wives of the Doges of Genoa were not called ''Dogaressa'', nor did t ...

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 ...

by marriage to the

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 ...

Ludovico Manin Ludovico Giovanni Manin (; ; 14 May 1725 – 24 October 1802) was a Venetian politician, Venetian nobility, patrician, and the List of Doges of Venice, 120th and last Doge of Venice. He governed the Venetian Republic from 9 March 1789 until its ...

( 1789–1797).

Biography

Elisabetta Grimani was the daughter of Antonio Grimani. She married Ludovico Manin on 14 September 1748. A contemporary description of her during the election of her spouse to

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 a ...

in 1789 related, "The triumph of the Doge must be somewhat dampened by his wife, who, by some womanish singularity, is not pleased at becoming Dogaressa. She would not appear at any of the feasts, but has hidden herself, according to some, at

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

, others say she has taken refuge in her steward's house!" Grimani was described as modest and simple. Grimani suffered from a long lasting terminal illness, resulting in large amounts of anxiety, but is said to have maintained a firmness of mind until her death in

. She was the last Dogaressa of Venice, and the last to be afforded a state funeral as such. A

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Oratio Imperata was made about her: "Illud sane celebranduniy, quod per longos eosque jplurimos annos acerha valitudine correpta, nunquam aut vi deterrita aut languoribus oppressa, semper naturce dehilitationi superior, et magnitudine animi constans visafm'tJ'.Louisa Lauw:
The Dogaressa
'

References

1792 deaths Dogaressas of Venice Elisabetta Year of birth unknown 18th-century Venetian women {{Italy-noble-stub