Marco Cornaro (c. 1286 – 13 January 1368), also known as Marco Corner, was the 59th

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 ...

, ruling between 1365 and 1368. His brief reign saw the loss of Venetian territory to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and 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) ...

, though Venice was to enjoy economic growth during this time.

Biography

The

Cornaro family The House of Cornaro or Corner are a family in Venice who were patricians in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth centu ...

to which the future doge was born was one of Venice's oldest, its lineage traceable to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. It was also one of the richest, having achieved this status from money-lending. The Cornaros would produce three more doges in the 17th and 18th centuries. Marco Cornaro's first marriage was to Giovanna Scrovegni of Padua, with whom he had three sons and two daughters. His second marriage was to a woman named Caterina about whom little is known other than her low social status made his later election to the doge difficult. Dogaressa Caterina was somewhat mocked for her simple habits, which was not seen as suitable for the rank of a dogaressa, but he always defended her and called her a good woman and wife. Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges. London : T. W. Laurie
/ref> Cornaro acquired his own wealth through trade with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. He also followed both military and political careers in the service of the Republic, leading troops at sea and on the mainland. He served as ambassador to

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

and

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bl ...

, and was also a member of the Venetian delegation to the election of

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the ...

in Avignon. Cornaro was instrumental in the discovery and suppression of the attempted coup d'état in 1355 by the then doge

Marino Faliero Marino Faliero (1274 – 17 April 1355) was the 55th Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354. He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier (Venetian rather than standard Italian) or Falieri. He was executed for attempting a coup d ...

, who intended to declare himself prince of Venice. Following the dissolution of the plot and execution of the conspirators, Cornaro was briefly made vice-doge before a successor to Faliero could be appointed.

Dogal office

On the death of the previous incumbent

Lorenzo Celsi Lorenzo Celsi (born Venice, c. 1310 – died there 18 July 1365) was a Venetian statesman who served as the 58th Doge of Venice, from 16 July 1361 until his death. Biography He was the son of a rich Celsi family, and was previously noted for l ...

on 18 July 1365, Cornaro was elected to the dogal office, despite the aspersions cast by his opponents over his advanced age, his wife's low birth and his friendships with foreign princes. Once elected, in contrast to his predecessors, he established a respectful stance towards Venice's public bodies. During the two and a half years of his reign, Venice saw no major changes or wars, although it lost the islands of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

and

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

and the city of

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in ...

to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. He was successful in re-establishing Venetian trade with Egypt by convincing Urban V to rescind his prohibition on dealing with infidels. Cornaro ordered the construction of a wing of the Doge's Palace on its side facing

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Saint Mark's Square, that was never admin ...

. Marco Cornaro died in the early hours of 13 January 1368. He is buried in the Basilica of San Zanipolo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornaro, Marco 1286 births 1368 deaths

Marco Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish c ...

14th-century Doges of Venice Burials at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice