Nicolò Contarini (26 September 1553 – 2 April 1631), was the 97th

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 his election on 18 January 1630 until his death 15 months later. Contarini was the Doge who presided over Venice during the

Italian plague of 1629–1631 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional ...

, which killed one third of Venice's population.

Biography

Nicolò Contarini was born 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 ...

, the son of Giovanna Morosini and Giangabriele

Contarini The House of Contarini is one of the founding families of Venicehttps://archive.org/details/teatroaraldicose02tett, Leone Tettoni. ''Teatro araldico ovvero raccolta generale delle armi ed insegne gentilizie delle piu illustri e nobili casate ...

, a man who was not rich, but who nevertheless was familiar with

high culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society cons ...

. Nicolò Contarini became familiar with

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and soon gained a reputation for fairness in his conduct of the

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

of 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, ...

. Politically, he was a supporter of

Leonardo Donato Leonardo Donà, or Donato (Venice, February 12, 1536 – Venice, July 16, 1612) was the 90th Doge of Venice, reigning from January 10, 1606 until his death. His reign is chiefly remembered for Venice's dispute with the papacy, which resulted in ...

. During the factional divisions of Venice between supporters of

Giovanni I Cornaro Giovanni I Corner or Cornaro (Venice, 11 November 1551 – Venice, 23 December 1629) was the 96th Doge of Venice, reigning from 24 January 1625 until his death. Early years, 1551–1625 He was the son of Marcantonio Cornaro and Cecilia Giust ...

and Renier Zen in late 1629, Contarini was critical of Cornaro, but was never extreme in his opposition, which won him the respect of Cornaro's supporters. Upon the death of Cornaro, a heated debate led to many rounds of balloting as supporters of Cornaro and supporters of Zen were unable to agree on a candidate. Contarini ultimately emerged as the compromise candidate and was elected Doge on 18 January 1630. Contarini's reign began poorly, with Venetian troops, who were participating in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...

, losing a decisive battle at Valeggio in May 1630, a predecessor to the unsatisfying Peace of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

in October 1630. Venice suffered its first outbreak of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

in June 1630. The government acted promptly, imposing

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

on plague victims and burning the

corpses A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stu ...

, but it was unable to prevent the death of thousands. In October 1630, at the request of the

Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

, Contarini vowed to construct a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in honour of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

once the plague was over. Contarini died in Venice on 2 April 1631, before the

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

of this church,

Santa Maria della Salute Santa Maria della Salute ( en, Saint Mary of Health), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy. It stands on the narr ...

, was laid.

References

External links

This article was based on this article on

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 th ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Contarini, Nicolo 1553 births 1631 deaths Nicolo 16th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Doges of Venice