The or () was a board of five senior magistrates 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, ...

, initially charged with the defence of the Republic's possessions in the Italian mainland (). Gradually they assumed specific roles pertaining to the supervision of public finances (the ), the military administration (the and ), state ceremonies (the ), and urgent matters (the ).

Establishment

The were established , as part of the Republic's expansion into the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, and its military confrontation with the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

over hegemony in northern Italy. They were probably the direct descendants of the extraordinary that were elected in 1412 for the pursuit of the war. In 1432, the became members of the

Venetian Senate The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

Composition

They were five in number, and sat on the

Full College The Full College ( vec, Pien Collegio) was the main executive body of the Republic of Venice, overseeing day-to-day governance and preparing the agenda for the Venetian Senate. Composition The Full College comprised the Doge of Venice and the r ...

(), the Republic's effective cabinet. As with other higher magistracies of Venice, restrictions were placed on the eligibility to the office: the members were elected from the

, served a term of six months, and could not be re-elected to the same office for three months thereafter. To ensure continuity, the appointments to the office of were staggered: three took office on 1 October, two on 1 January, three on 1 April, and two on 1 July.

Roles

Like all , the office did not carry a salary, but could be held in tandem with other public offices. The roles of each of the were eventually regularized: * the was analogous to a Minister for War. The post existed since at least 1519, and initially tasked with the payment of military salaries, but by the mid-17th century its powers had been extended to encompass all areas of military administration, apart from the supervision of the militias and those matters under the purview of military committees staffed by

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

holding military commands, to which he acted in an advisory capacity. * the was analogous to a Finance Minister. The post existed as early as 1473, but appears to have lapsed and not revived until 1526, and abolished again in 1539–1543. The supervised the fiscal officials known as and was responsible for public finances, including tax collection. His tenure lasted for a year (after 1543 limited to six months), but all affairs begun under his tenure remained under his purview until completed, even after leaving office. * the was responsible for the supervision of the militias (). Unlike the previous two posts, there was no election specifically on this position, which was given to the one of the three remaining with the highest number of votes. * the was responsible for public ceremonies. * the was responsible for any other matter voted as urgent ().

References

Sources

* * * * {{Republic of Venice topics Domini di Terraferma Government of the Republic of Venice 15th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice Military history of the Republic of Venice