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A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably
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  ...
and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as "
crowned republics A crowned republic, also known as a monarchial republic, is an informal term that has been used to refer to a system of monarchy where the monarch's role may be seen as almost entirely ceremonial and where nearly all of the royal prerogatives are ...
".


Etymology

The word is from the Venetian language, reaching English via
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
. ', along with the related English word ''duke'' and the Italian '', '' (masculine) and ' (feminine) all descend from the Latin ', meaning either "spiritual leader" or "military commander". However, the words ''duce'' and ''Duca'' are not interchangeable. Moreover, ''Duca'' (duke) is an aristocratic and hereditary title. The wife of a doge is styled a '' Dogaressa'' and the office of the doge is termed ''dogeship''.


Usage

The title of ''doge'' was used for the elected chief of state in several Italian " crowned republics". The two best known such republics were
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  ...
(where in
Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
he was called ) and Genoa (where he was called a ) which rivalled each other, and the other regional great powers, by building their historical city-states into maritime, commercial, and territorial empires. Other Italian republics to have doges were Amalfi and the small town of
Senarica Senarica is a village in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. With a population of fewer than 300 people, Senarica was an independent republic for about four centuries until the end of the eighteenth century. It was the smallest state to maintain ...
. In several of his writings, Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, proposed that the future Jewish State take the title of "Dog" for its head of state – but this was not taken up by the actual state of Israel.


Selection

After 1172 the election of the
Venetian doge 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 ...
was entrusted to a committee of forty, who were chosen by four men selected from the Great Council of Venice, which was itself nominated annually by 12 persons. After a deadlocked tie at the election of 1229, the number of electors was increased from forty to forty-one. New regulations for the elections of the doge introduced in 1268 remained in force until the end of the republic in 1797. Their object was to minimize as far as possible the influence of individual great families, and this was effected by complex elective machinery. Thirty members of the Great Council, chosen by lot, were reduced by lot to nine; the nine chose forty and the forty were reduced by lot to twelve, who chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine and the nine elected forty-five. Then the forty-five were once more reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven finally chose the forty-one who elected the doge. None could be elected but by at least twenty-five votes out of forty-one, nine votes out of eleven or twelve, or seven votes out of nine electors. Initially, the doge of Genoa was elected without restriction and by popular
suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
. Following reforms in 1528, plebeians were declared ineligible, and the appointment of the doge was entrusted to the members of the Great Council, the '.


Term of office and restrictions of power

In Venice, doges normally ruled for life, although a few were forcibly removed from office. While doges had great temporal power at first, after 1268, the doge was constantly under strict surveillance: he had to wait for other officials to be present before opening dispatches from foreign powers; he was not allowed to possess any property in a foreign land. After a doge's death, a commission of ' passed judgment upon his acts, and his estate was liable to be fined for any discovered malfeasance. The official income of the doge was never large, and from early times holders of the office remained engaged in trading ventures. Originally, Genoese doges held office for life in the so-called "perpetual dogeship"; but after the reform effected by Andrea Doria in 1528 the term of his office was reduced to two years. The ruling caste of Genoa tied them to executive committees, kept them on a small budget, and kept them apart from the communal revenues held at the '.


Gallery

File:FrancescoFoscariBastiani.jpg, Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice (1423–1457) by Lazzaro Bastiani File:Bellini, Gentile - Mocenigo, Giovanni, Doge - Museo Correr.jpg, Portrait of
Giovanni Mocenigo Monument to Giovanni Mocenigo - Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice Giovanni Ser di Mocenigo, Jr. (1409 – November 4, 1485), Pietro Mocenigo's brother, was doge of Venice from 1478 to 1485. He fought at sea against the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II ...
, Doge of Venice (1478–1485) by Gentile Bellini File:Gentile Bellini 010.jpeg,
Pasquale Malipiero file: Interior of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Venice) - Monument to the doge Pasquale Malipiero.jpg, Monument Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, In San Giovanni e Paolo Pasquale Malipiero, called the ''dux pacificus'' (1392 in Venice – May 5, 146 ...
, Doge of Venice (1457–1462) by Gentile Bellini File:Portrait of Doge Marino Grimani by Domenico Tintoretto, Cincinnati Art Museum.JPG,
Marino Grimani Marino Grimani (c.1489–1546) was an Italian Cardinal and papal legate. He was from an aristocratic Venetian family. He was elected bishop of Ceneda in 1508, when he was under age. He was patriarch of Aquileia in 1517. He was created Cardin ...
, Doge of Venice (1532–1560) by Domenico Tintoretto File:Accademia - Bernardo Strozzi Portrait de Francesco Erizzo.jpg,
Francesco Erizzo Francesco Erizzo (Venice, February 18, 1566 – Venice, January 3, 1646) was the 98th Doge of Venice, reigning from his election on April 10, 1631, until his death fifteen years later. His reign is particularly notable because the last year of his ...
, Doge of Venice (1631-1646) by Bernardo Strozzi File:Anthony van Dyck - Portrait of Agostino Pallavicini - Google Art Project.jpg,
Agostino Pallavicini Agostino Pallavicini (Genoa, 1577Genoa, 1649) was the 103rd Doge of the Republic of Genoa and king of Corsica. Biography For the Republic of Genoa he held various institutional positions, including the appointment of governor of Corsica in the ...
, Doge of Genoa (1637-1639) by
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...
File:Doge Simone Spinola-dipinto di Andrea Semino.jpg,
Simone Spinola Simone Spinola (Genoa, 1497 - Genoa, 3 October 1569) was the 66th Doge of the Republic of Genoa. Biography Born in Genoa in a period around 1497, Simone Spinola was member of the noble Spinola family of the Luccoli branch and adhered to that n ...
, Doge of Genoa (1567–1569) by Andrea Semoni File:Jan Hovaert - Portrait of Luca Giustiniani, the doge of Genoa.jpg,
Luca Giustiniani Luca Giustiniani (Genoa, 1586 - Genoa, 24 October 1651) was the 107th Doge of the Republic of Genoa and king of Corsica. Biography Son of Alessandro Giustiniani Longo, doge in the two-year period 1611–1613, and Lelia De Franchi Toso, he was ...
, Doge of Genoa (1644–1646) by
Jan Hovaert Jan Hovaert or Giovanni HovartJan Hovaert
at the
Francesco Maria Imperiale Francesco Maria Imperiale (Sampierdarena, 21 August 1653Sampierdarena, 4 August 1736) was the 141st Doge of the Republic of Genoa and king of Corsica. Biography Son of Gian Giacomo Imperiale and Livia Salvago, and member of the noble Imper ...
, Doge of Genoa (1711-1713) by
Giovanni Maria delle Piane Giovanni Maria delle Piane (1660 – 28 June 1745) was an aristocratic Genovese who served as primary court painter for over 60 years in the late-Baroque period. He is also known as "il Molinaretto". Biography Giovanni Maria was born in Genoa, ...
File:Michelangelo Cambiaso, Doge of Genoa, by Anton von Maron.jpg, Michelangelo Cambiaso, Doge of Genoa (1791-1793) by
Anton von Maron Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...


See also

* Doge of Amalfi


References

{{Authority control Heads of state Noble titles Titles of national or ethnic leadership Republic of Venice History of Genoa