Leonardo Boldù was a member of the patrician family, who served the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

as governor in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and ambassador to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

during the

First Ottoman–Venetian War First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. Boldu was one of the few Venetians of his era to learn Greek.

Life

Leonardo Boldù' was born in 1420 to Pietro Boldù' and Franceschina Pozzo, the daughter of Vinciguerra Pozzo. Boldù' was presented to the Balla d'Oro in 1439. In 1450 he married a daughter of Conforto Morosini. Boldù' married again in 1460 to Fiordelize, the daughter of Conte Rainaldo da Collalto.

Career

Leonardo Boldù' was elected Avogador omnes curias in 1446. He was elected to the

Council of Forty The Council of Forty (), also known as the ''Quarantia'', was one of the highest constitutional bodies of the Republic of Venice, with both legal and political functions as the supreme court. Origins and evolution By some estimates, the Quarantia w ...

in 1451. Leonardo Boldù'was Capo contrata San Samuele in 1455. In 1455, Leonardo Boldù' was appointed ambassador to the court of the

. He was elected Auditor Veteris in 1458. Boldù' was appointed Captain and Proveditore to

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

and Province of Brescia in 1461. In 1465, Boldù was elected Rector of Scutari ( Shkoder). In October 1467, as Rector of Scutari, he was entrusted with a diplomatic mission as ambassador to Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

in an attempt to end the ongoing

. Granted safe-passage to the Ottoman court through the intercession of the Albanian nobleman Alessio Spani and bearing rich gifts for the Sultan, Boldù managed to meet Mehmed in March 1468, but his mission failed to achieve anything substantial. In 1470, Boldù succeeded his friend,

Giosafat Barbaro Giosafat Barbaro (also spelled ''Giosaphat'' or ''Josaphat''; 1413–1494) was a member of the Venetian Barbaro family. He was a diplomat, merchant, explorer and travel writer.

as Conte, Capitano and Proevveditor of Scutari.“I Viaggi in Persia degli ambasciatori veneti Barbaro e Contarini”, Laurence Lockhart; Raimondo Morozzo della Rocca; Maria Francesca Tiepolo, Venezia, A spese della R. Deputazion, 1973, pg. 4

/ref> Boldù was elected Savio agli Ordini in 1471 and Proweditore of all Albania 1473. In May 1474, Boldù was appointed overall governor () of Venetian possessions in northwestern

, which faced an Ottoman attack that culminated in a failed

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

of Scutari. Boldù was elected Proveditore of Lombardy 1476. In 1476, Boldù was one of the 41 senators chosen to act as electors, who selected

Andrea Vendramin Tomb of Andrea Vendramin in Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice Andrea Vendramin (1393 – May 5, 1478, both Venice) was Doge of Venice from 1476 until his death in 1478, at the height of Venetian power, the only member of the Vendramin family to ...

as Doge.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boldù, Leonardo 1420 births Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Ottoman Empire History of Shkodër Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479) Republic of Venice nobility Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Republic of Venice politicians Venetian governors 15th-century Venetian people 15th-century Italian nobility 15th-century Italian judges