Nicolò Tron (born c. 1399 – died 1473 in Venice) was the 68th

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 ...

, reigning from 1471 to 1473.

Life

A member of the patrician House of Tron whose presence in Venice had been recorded since the Middle Ages, Nicolò Tron became wealthy after only a brief career as a merchant after which he held various public positions in the government of Venice. He was ''consigliere'' for naval matters and ambassador of Venice to Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

, who had waged a war with

Vlad Dracula Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...

against

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

. Tron was married to

Aliodea Morosini Aliodea Morosini, called "Dea Moro" (died 1478), was the 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 w ...

, known sometime as Dea Tron or Dea Moro. Staley, Edgcumbe: The dogaressas of Venice : The wives of the doges. London : T. W. Laurie
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Doge

In the doge election of 1471 Tron prevailed against his later successors Pietro Mocenigo and

Andrea Vendramin Tomb of Andrea Vendramin in Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice Andrea Vendramin (1393 – May 5, 1478, both Venice) served as Doge of Venice, 1476–78, at the height of Venetian power, the only member of the Vendramin family to do so. His mother, ...

. During his reign Venice consolidated its control of

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 ge ...

and reduced its frequent quarrels with the Turks by forming an alliance with the Turkmen Ussan Hassan Beg. His skillful politics enabled Venice to enjoy a period of freedom during his reign. However, his policy of building up the military sharply increased Venice's public debt. Tron reformed the monetary system of Venice. He introduced a new coin, called the Lira, which on the reverse side depicted the profile of the doge like the ancient coins used to; and thus went against the Venetian practice of rejecting any association of a personality cult with the Republic of Venice. After his death the coin was changed to feature a kneeling, unidentifiable Doge.

Tomb

Tron's tomb was commissioned by his son Filippo Tron and built in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The largest church in the city, it has the status of a minor basil ...

. The tomb's design and construction is attributed to the architect of the Doge's Palace, Antonio Rizzo. According to the inscription on the monument, the tomb was financed by loot from Tron's wars with the Turks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tron, Nicolo Medieval Italian diplomats Year of birth uncertain 1390s births 1473 deaths Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Holy See Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars 15th-century Doges of Venice 15th-century diplomats Nicolo Burials at Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari