Girolamo Zane (1495 - 13 October 1572) was a of the Venetian fleet during the

War of Cyprus War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. After being sent to Costantinople as the Venetian in 1542, in 1566 he was appointed , receiving power on 27 March 1570. The same year he commanded the Venetian fleet in the unsuccessful expedition to save

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 geo ...

, attacked by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In December, his request for leave was accepted. Back in

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 ...

he was arrested for alleged failures in the management of the fleet during the mission in the East. He died in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

on 13 October 1572.

Biography

He was born in

in 1495, to Bernardo di Girolamo, from the so-called branch of S. Polo, and Elisabetta Morosini di Roberto, who were married in 1487. He had at least three siblings: Pietro, a canon of

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 ...

, Carlo, , counselor in

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ( ...

, ; and sister Giovanna. On 31 May 1531, having returned to Venice after an adventure in

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

and five years spent in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, where he was consul, he married Elisabetta Vitturi di Matteo, by whom he had four children: Bernardo, a senator and counselor; Matteo, ambassador; Agnes, wife of Alvise

Venier Venier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andrea Venier, castellan of Scutari * Annibale Venier (born 1951), an Italian rower * Anton Venier, Austrian luger *Antonio Venier (c. 1330–1400), Doge of Venice * Cecilia Venier-Baff ...

di Lorenzo; and Maria, wife of Giovanni Soranzo di Francesco. In 1542 he was sent to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

as the Venetian ambassador ()Emmanuele Antonio Cicogna, Delle inscrizioni Veneziane, Volume 2, p. 359 a position he held until 1544. In that same year, he was elected captain of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

and, in 1558, of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

War of Cyprus

On 28 March 1570 the ambassador of the Ottoman sultan

Selim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin *Salim (poet) (1800–1866) *Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996) *Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans * Selim people, an eth ...

arrived in Venice, with the request for the surrender of the island of Cyprus. This was flatly rejected by the Council, who instead prepared for war, having already put Zane in command of the fleet on 27 March 1570, Monday of Easter. The Venetian fleet, commanded by Zane, then moved to Zara on 3 April to wait for the other galleys. During the long stop in Zara a terrible epidemic of petechial typhus broke out which decimated the crews and which was to affect the expedition in the future. On 30 May Zane was ordered to head to

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

where he was to join Gianandrea Doria's fleet if they reached them in time. However, the had to wait until all the galleys were available and only reached Corfu on 29 June, where there was no trace of Doria. On 23 July the Venetian fleet headed east and, after having made stopovers in

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

and

Modone Methoni ( el, Μεθώνη, it, Modone, vec, Modon) is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal uni ...

, arrived on 4 August in Candia. The orders given to Zane required him to head immediately to Cyprus, but the captain general decided to wait until he had substituted all the rowers who died during the epidemic. In the meantime, on 6 August,

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish gener ...

had arrived in Otranto with the 12 papal galleys and was awaiting the arrival of Gianandrea Doria from

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

to set sail to the east. The latter however, not completely convinced of the whole project, deliberately delayed the reunion with Colonna, which took place only on 21 August. The following day the fleet headed for Crete where it arrived on 31 August. Despite Doria's attempts to mess everything up, accusing the Venetian fleet of being in poor condition, the Holy League sailed from the port of

Sitia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...

on the night of 17-18 September. Alvise Bembo was sent in advance near Castelrosso. He returned with the news that the Turks had conquered

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

. This news further undermined the fragile balance of the alliance and in the war council of 22 September the Venetians were unable to impose the continuation of the expedition against the Turks. The fleet withdrew that same evening to Crete and from there to Italy. In December 1570 his request for leave was accepted and on 13 December he was replaced by

Agostino Barbarigo Agostino Barbarigo (3 June 1419 – 20 September 1501) was Doge of Venice from 1486 until his death in 1501. While he was Doge, the imposing Clock Tower in the Piazza San Marco with its archway through which the street known as the Merceria le ...

first and then

Sebastiano Venier Sebastiano Venier (or Veniero) (c. 1496 – 3 March 1578) was Doge of Venice from 11 June 1577 to 3 March 1578. He is best remembered in his role as the Venetian admiral at the Battle of Lepanto. Biography Venier was born in Venice around 1496. ...

The process

Returning to Venice on 11 April, Zane was arrested for alleged failures in fleet management during the mission to the East. During the trial many officers were called to testify, including Marcantonio Colonna, who always proved to be kind to the Zane claiming that he had no fault for the failed expedition. The trial lasted for a long time and, before being able to hear the sentence, Zane died in prison on 13 October 1572.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zane, Girolamo 1495 births 1572 deaths Commanders in chief Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Republic of Venice admirals 16th-century Venetian people Prisoners and detainees of the Republic of Venice People who died in prison custody Baili of Constantinople