Francesco Contarini (

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 ...

, 28 November 1556 – Venice, 6 December 1624) was the 95th

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 ...

, reigning from 8 September 1623 until his death fourteen months later.

Background, 1556–1623

Francesco Contarini was the son of Bertucci Contarini and Laura Dolfin. Both of his parents died while he was young, leaving him as an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

who was raised by his two older brothers. The three brothers had inherited a substantial fortune, and no expense was spared on Francesco Contarini's education. A lover of travel, Contarini was sent on several

diplomatic missions A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

, representing the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

in many European courts. He was the

bailo in Constantinople A bailo, also spelled baylo (pl. / ) was a diplomat who oversaw the affairs of the Republic of Venice in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and was a permanent fixture in the city around 1454. The traumatic outcomes of Venice's w ...

from 1602 to 1604. In 1611 Contarini was in England, serving as Venetian ambassador with

Marc' Antonio Correr Marc' Antonio Correr (1570-1638) was a Venetian nobleman and ambassador at the Stuart court. He was chosen to replace Zorzi Giustinian as ambassador in London in 1608. His letters give an insight into international politics and court life. In Ma ...

at the court of King James. A man of refined manners, he gained a reputation of always placing the needs of Venice above his own self-interest.

Doge, 1623–1624

Following the death of Antonio Priuli on 12 August 1623, there was no obvious successor as Doge. When voting commenced, there was a stalemate. Francesco Contarini did not particularly want to be Doge, but after 79 ballots had failed to elect a Doge, he was prevailed on to agree to become Doge, and he was elected on 8 September. Little of note happened during Contarini's time as Doge. As was customary, he participated in the large Venetian festivals. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, which had spilled into the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...

in February 1623, went well for Venice, although Contarini did not himself participate in fighting. Contarini was only 67 when elected as Doge, a relatively young age for a position frequently inhabited by octogenarians. Nevertheless, he became ill 12 months after he became Doge and died six weeks after that.

References

This article is based on this article from

Italian Wikipedia The Italian Wikipedia ( it, Wikipedia in italiano) is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of , , it has articles and more than registered accounts. It is t ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Contarini, Francesco 1556 births 1624 deaths

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

Baili of Constantinople 16th-century Venetian people 17th-century Doges of Venice Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Kingdom of England