Vitale Candiano (died 979) was the 24th doge of the Republic of Venice.

Biography

He was the fourth son of the 21st doge,

Pietro III Candiano Pietro III Candiano was the Doge of Venice from 942 until 959. He was the son of Pietro II Candiano. Life In 948 he led a fleet of 33 galleys to punish the Dalmatian pirates, the Narentines, for repeatedly raiding against Venetian shipping in ...

, and Arcielda Candiano (sometimes given as Richielda). His brother the 22nd Doge Pietro IV and his young heir Pietro V had been killed in the revolution. He was elected by the popular assembly in September 978. This after having to flee to

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

because of the revolt against his father. His predecessor

Pietro I Orseolo Pietro I Orseolo OSBCam, also named ''Peter Urseulus'', (928–987) was the Doge of Venice from 976 until 978. He abdicated his office and left in the middle of the night to become a monk. He later entered the order of the Camaldolese Hermits of ...

had left Venice to become a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

. He voluntarily abdicated after serving as Doge for 14 months, which allowed his niece's husband to become the next Doge. His daughter Maria Candiano married

Pietro II Orseolo Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009. He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalmatian Romanized settlements from the Croa ...

Relationships with the empire of the West

At times, the relationship between Venice and Western Empire was rocky because, in 976, Venetian citizens revolted and killed Doge Peter IV Candiano. He was a despotic leader, but the Western Emperor,

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

, supported him and he was related by his second marriage to both Otto II's family and that of the King of Italy.

Abdication

Fourteen months after being elected, Vitale Candiano

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

, for health reasons. He withdrew to the convent of Sant'Ilario to live monastic life.Janet Sethre, ''The Souls of Venice'', (McFarland & Co. Inc., 2003), 84. He died there only four days later and was buried there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candiano, Vitale 10th-century Doges of Venice 10th-century births 979 deaths

Vitale Vitale is a Russian surname and is usually a short form of Russian surnames such as ''Vitalik'', ''Vitalin'', or ''Vitalov''. It is also an Italian surname which derives from the Latin word ''Vita'' meaning 'life'. The name may refer to: * Ami Vi ...