Giovanna Dandolo was a

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 ...

of Venice by marriage to

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 ...

Pasquale Malipiero file: Interior of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - Monument to the doge Pasquale Malipiero.jpg, Monument Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, In San Giovanni e Paolo Pasquale Malipiero, called the ''dux pacificus'' (1392 in Venice – May 5, 146 ...

(reign 1457–1462). She was born circa 1400 as the daughter of Antonio Dandolo and married to Pasquale Malipiero in 1414. She had four children: Lorenzo, Antonio, Maddalena and Polo. Her spouse was elected doge in 1457. She was given an elaborate coronation and entry in to Venice as dogaressa in January 1458. As her predecessor before her, Giovanna Dandolo came to play a very public role as dogaressa, performing representational tasks and acting as the protector of trades and individual artists. She supported the newly introduced art of book printing in Venice, the lace industry of

Burano Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, near Torcello at the northern end of the lagoon, known for its lace work and brightly coloured homes. The primary economy is tourism. Geography Burano is from Venice, a 45-minute tr ...

, and acted as a financier for many writers, artists and scientists. She was referred to as the 'Empress of Printing' and the 'Queen of Lace' due to her role as the benefactor of these trades. She gathered a circle of 'men of letters' and writers around her and acted as their patron. Palazzi in ''La Virtu in Giuocco'' records that she was "a princess of splendid physical and mental gifts but possessed of no private fortune.... In 1469 Giovanni Spira dedicated to her the first book ever printed in Venice." Many of the early books printed in Venice are dedicated to her, in gratitude for her patronage. Four of the first books printed in Venice in 1469 were all dedicated to her patronage. She also became a patron of the lace industry of Burano, which developed during this period. Reportedly, she gathered a circle of noblewomen and manufactured the lace herself as well. The only known surviving portrait of a 15th-century dogaressa is that of Giovanna Dandolo on the reverse of a medal designed by Pietro da Fano (c. 1460). She was the only dogaressa depicted on a portrait medal prior to the 16th-century, as well as one of only three Italian women, with

Isotta degli Atti Isotta degli Atti (late 1432 or 1433 – 9 July 1474) was an Italian Renaissance woman and regent. She was the mistress and later wife of the condottiero and lord of Rimini, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. She governed Rimini as regent during the ex ...

and

Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga (1395 – 23 September 1444) was Marquess of Mantua from 1407 to 1444. He was also a condottiero. Biography Gianfrancesco was the son of Francesco I Gonzaga and Margherita Malatesta. He inherited the rule of Mantua ...

's daughter

Cecilia Gonzaga Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

, to have portrait medals made of them prior to this period.Holly S. Hurlburt:
The Dogaressa of Venice, 1200-1500: Wife and Icon
'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dandolo, Giovanna Lace Dogaressas of Venice

Giovanna Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Jane, Joanna, Jeanne, etc. In Brazil, the feminine name Giovann ...

Year of death missing 15th-century Venetian women Italian salon-holders