Marino Faliero | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Seal with portrait of Marino Faliero | |
| 55th Doge of Venice | |
| In office 11 September 1354 – 15 April 1355 | |
| Preceded by | Andrea Dandolo |
| Succeeded by | Giovanni Gradenigo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1274 |
| Died | 17 April 1355 (aged 81) Venice, Venetian Republic |
| Spouse(s) | NA. Contarini Alvica Gradenigo |
| Children | 2 |
| Profession | Patrician,statesman |
Marino Faliero (Venetian:Marin Falier, c. 1274 – 17 April 1355) was the 55thDoge of Venice from 11 September 1354 to 15 April 1355, 2 days before his execution for attempting acoup d'etat.[1]
Faliero was born into one of the most ancientVenetian patrician families and held various state positions, including several military appointments, governorships, and ambassadorships. He was already eighty years old at the time of his election as doge. The reasons for his involvement in a coup attempt to overthrow Venice's republican government and install himself as prince are not entirely clear. According to a later tradition, Faliero attempted the coup as vengeance for an insult against his younger wife by a patrician, who was lightly punished. However, modern historians often dismiss this tradition and argue that Faliero wanted to secure Venice's survival by establishing autocratic rule, which had become the norm outside of Venice.
A painting of a black shroud with the words "This is the place of Marino Faliero, beheaded for crimes" hangs in the Great Council Hall of Venice among the portraits of the doges. Faliero's coup attempt has been depicted in several works of art, including plays, paintings, and an opera.
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Marino Faliero was bornc. 1274,[2] the son of Jacopo Faliero and Bettiola of theLoredan family.[3] Marino had three brothers, Ordelaffo, Marco, and Jacopo, and a sister, Francesca.[3] TheFaliero family was one of the oldest in theVenetian patriciate; legend traced its origins to the myths surrounding thefoundation of Venice itself inLate Antiquity. By the 14th century, it was counted among the twelve most prestigious, so-called "apostolic" noble families.[4]
Marino married twice. The name of his first wife, who died sometime before 1328, is unknown, but may have been a member of theContarini family (the same as his grandmother's). The couple had numerous children: Lucia, Marco, Nicoletto, Maddalena, Andriota, Caterina, and Tommasina.[3] His second marriage, in 1335, was to the much youngerAlvica Gradenigo, a granddaughter of DogePietro Gradenigo (r. 1289–1311). This marriage was childless.[5][6]
The Faliero family had many branches, and many of its members shared the same name, which makes distinguishing them difficult for modern historians. At the time of Marino's early life there were two other namesakes: a remote cousin who died shortly after 1320, and a paternal uncle, who died around 1330.[7] As a result, information about Marino Faliero's early career is certain only after 1330.[8]
Faliero's first known public post is attested in October 1315, when he was one of the three heads (capi) of theCouncil of Ten, convened to examine the case of a sympathizer of the failed 1310Tiepolo conspiracy.[9] Faliero's own role during the 1310 events is nowhere mentioned, but from his later appointment it appears that he supported the victorious loyalist side.[10] Faliero continued as a member of the council until 1320 and held the office of head of the Ten as well asstate inquisitor several times during this period.[10] In early 1320 he was charged with Andrea Michiel to organize the killing ofBajamonte Tiepolo andPietro Querini, the only two leaders of the conspiracy still at large.[11]
From then until 1323, Faliero's activities are unknown, other than records of mercantile activity in 1321 and early 1323. In April of the latter year, he was namedbailo (governor) and captain (military commandant) of Negroponte (Euboea), a Venetian-ruled island in theAegean Sea.[12] In 1326 he was again in Venice as a member of the Council of Ten, but in May of the following year he left forBologna on a diplomatic mission along with Marco Michiel to the prior of theServites who had a dispute with Venice. Back again in Venice he again served in the Ten, he left shortly after to be elected to the police board of the Five Elders to Peace (cinque anziani alla pace).[12] He is next mentioned in a number of private deeds in 1329, and was elected to the Council of Ten in August of the same year, and again at the start of 1330.[12]
In 1333 Faliero became captain of the galleys destined for theBlack Sea and ofConstantinople, his first known military posting. His task was the protection of the merchant ships going toTanais.[13] He was back in Venice by 31 October, when he was tasked with examining the affairs of the East, notably the reports sent to Venice by the—largely Venetian-sponsored[14]—Holy League and from Negroponte,[15] as well as serving in commissions on the matters of navigation in the East.[16] In early 1334 Faliero was elected aspodestà (governor) of theDalmatian island of Lesina (Hvar). He remained at this post from early March 1334 to late June 1335.[17] In July he was member of a commission examining letters fromHélion de Villeneuve, theGrand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and a month later of a commission concerning correspondence with KingJames III of Majorca. During the same time he also wedded his second wife, Alvica Gradenigo.[18] In November 1335 Faliero was elected as asavio agli ordini, the board tasked with naval affairs.[18]
With theScaliger War looming, in May 1336 Faliero was member of a commission sent to supervise the defence of the formerCaminesi lands annexed by Venice.[18] He then served as one of the two Venetian members (along with twoFlorentine ones) in the council assisting the anti-Scaliger alliance's captain-general,Pietro de' Rossi, until late autumn 1336.[19] From 1 May 1337 to 28 February 1338 he served aspodestà ofChioggia,[19] immediately on the next day assuming his post aspodestà ofPadua, which had only recently been freed from Scaliger rule and was now a protectorate of Venice and Florence.[20] Faliero held the post until February 1339,[19] and during this time he cooperated with the city's lord,Ubertino I da Carrara, in a comprehensive overhaul of the Paduan statutes to secure the position of the newCarraresi regime and its ruling family. Among the reforms was a revision of the eligibility criteria for the Paduan Great Council that echoed Venice's ownSerrata of 1297, by making membership more restrictive and founded on a hereditary basis.[21]
Elected as the first Venetianpodestà ofTreviso on 26 January 1339, Faliero took up his new post on 11 February, holding it until December of that year.[22] During the next year he was a member of various commissions of 'wise men' (savi) on diverse issues, domestic as well as foreign, ranging from preparations in Dalmatia for a possible war with KingLouis I of Hungary to an examination ofusury practices, or supervising road construction in Venice.[23] From May 1341 to January 1342 he served aspodestà ofSerravalle, followed by a second term aspodestà of Chioggia from April 1342 to April 1343, although his actual tenure was shorter, since in March he was recalled to Venice for consultations.[24] During the following months he played a role in resolving the legal disputes of the former Caminesi lords; acting as guarantor in an agreement betweenGherardo V da Camino [it] andRizzardo VII da Camino [it] and the Bishop ofCeneda, Faliero was rewarded by the former with ownership of the castle ofFregona.[25] In spring 1344 Faliero was sent as envoy, along with Andrea Corner, toPope Clement VI inAvignon. The mission, to receive papal permission to trade withAlexandria—ruled by theMamluk Sultanate and thus normally prohibited for Christian merchants[a]—was a success.[28] During his absence, Faliero was elected againpodestà of Chioggia, a post which was filled by his brother Ordelaffo until Marino returned from Avignon. He remained in this post till 1 May 1345.[29]
In September Faliero was briefly part of a commission dealing with therevolt of Zara (Zadar), the chief Venetian possession in Dalmatia. On 20 November Faliero was designated captain of the naval forces against Zara, but this was soon altered to a six-month command of the land forces ten days later, a move of uncertain legality as Faliero had already accepted the previous appointment.[30] He never seems to have exercised this command, however, and on 14 January 1346 he was again named captain of the sea. Sailing to Zara with a fleet, he arrived there at the end of February, but already in March was obliged to subordinate himself toPietro Civran, who arrived at the scene with another Venetian fleet as commander-in-chief of all naval forces. With the defeat of a relief attempt by King Louis I of Hungary in early July, the military situation dramatically shifted in favour of the Venetians, and by the end of the same month Faliero was back in Venice.[31] From 4 August 1346 to 4 August 1347 Faliero served a second term aspodestà of Treviso.[32]
In November 1347, Faliero was member of a commission to examine correspondence with Louis I of Hungary, before going for a second term aspodestà to Serravalle in the next year. In the meantime, Venice was devastated by theBlack Death,[32] which killed his brother, Ordelaffo.[3] While still at Serravalle, on 24 September 1348, Faliero was elected captain-general of the land forces against the city of Capodistria (Koper), which had revolted against Venetian rule. By the time he arrived in Venice and began preparations, however, the revolt was already subdued, and he only went to Capodistria as a commissioner in November, to ensure its defence and examine how the revenue derived from it could be increased.[33] In February–April 1349, assavio agli ordini, he was charged with the Republic's deteriorating relationship with its traditional rival, theRepublic of Genoa, which would soon lead to the outbreak of theThird Genoese–Venetian War.[34] He was then sent as envoy to thepapal legate,Guy de Montfort [fr], on the issue of the accumulated arrears, due to the plague and the imminent war with Genoa, of thedecima dei morti, the tithe that ought to be paid to the Church from the property of deceased Venetians. Neither Faliero nor his eventual successors could resolve the matter, which festered and poisoned the Republic's relations with the Church for decades.[35]
By May 1349, Faliero was again serving an annual term aspodestà of Chioggia. In July the same year, in a ceremony at Ceneda, he was invested with the fief ofValmareno, which was ceded by Rizzardo VII da Camino in exchange for a loan from the Republic.[36] In May 1350, he served in a board on the affairs of Dalmatia, was briefly again envoy to the papal legate, and in June was appointed to the five-member commission examining relations with Genoa. Elected ambassador to theDuke of Austria,Albert II, Faliero was eventually replaced in this task and sent instead to an embassy to Genoa, in hopes of averting the imminent conflict. The decree of his appointment makes clear the high hopes vested in him, claiming that "our fates are largely entrusted in the person of the ambassador". He was given ample remit to conclude an agreement as he saw fit, or to refer the matter to papal arbitration.[37] Officially confirmed on 31 July, Faliero set out, but already on 2 August, he received messages that instructed him to stay put, and then to turn back, leaving only his secretary, Amadeo, to continue with the mission. The reason for this was news received in Venice that Venetian citizens had been killed by the Genoese in the Black Sea. Even though newer messages confirmed this not to be the case, the subsequent proposals for Faliero to continue his journey, or for another ambassador to be sent in his stead, fell through, making war inevitable.[38]
In 1352 Faliero was sent on a diplomatic mission and met with theBulgarian tsarIvan Alexander inNicopolis, giving him a letter from the dogeAndrea Dandolo.
Faliero was a naval and military commander and then a diplomat before being elected doge in succession toAndrea Dandolo.[39] He learned of his election while he was on a diplomatic mission to thepapal court at Avignon.[39] The populace of Venice was at that time disenchanted with the ruling aristocrats who were blamed for a recent naval defeat by the fleet of theRepublic of Genoa at the 1354Battle of Portolungo during theThird Venetian–Genoese War.[39]
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Within months of being elected, Faliero attempted acoup d'etat in April 1355, aiming to take effective power from the ruling aristocrats. According to tradition, this came about because the dogaressa, Faliero's second wife,Aluycia Gradenigo, had been insulted byMichele Steno, a member of an aristocratic family.[40] Modern historians often dismiss this tradition and instead connect Faliero's actions with diplomatic career: they suggest that Faliero saw the predominance of strong autocrats abroad, as opposed to Venice's republican system. His experiences and Venice's recent defeat by the Genoese may have led him to conclude that only autocratic rule could secure Venice's future.[41] However, Faliero gave no such explanation during his trial following the failure of the coup attempt.Thomas F. Madden writes that Faliero's display of repentance at his trial was "just what one might expect from a man who had been so enraged by arrogant mockery against himself and his wife that he rashly set forces in motion that he could not control."[42]Frederic C. Lane states that Faliero's main motivation may not have been to become a despot but rather to realize the goals of "the die-hards of a war party" dissatisfied with the peace with Genoa.[43]
The plot intended to murder the chief patricians on 15 April and proclaim Faliero prince of Venice. It was badly organised, with poor communication between the conspirators, and was quickly discovered thanks to some of the conspirators having made revelations. The Council of Ten proceeded to arrest the ringleaders and to place armed guards all over the town. Several of the conspirators were condemned to death and others to various terms of imprisonment. Faliero pleaded guilty to all charges and wasbeheaded on 17 April[1] and his body mutilated. Ten additional ringleaders were hanged on display from theDoge's Palace inPiazza San Marco.[44]
Faliero was condemned todamnatio memoriae, and accordingly his portrait displayed in theSala del Maggior Consiglio (Hall of the Great Council) in the Doge's Palace was omitted and the space painted over with a black shroud, which can still be seen in the hall today. ALatin language inscription on the painted shroud reads:Hic est locus Marini Faletro, decapitati pro criminibus ("This is the space for Marino Faliero, beheaded for his crimes").[40]
The story of Faliero's failed plot was later made into plays byLord Byron (Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice in 1821)[45] andCasimir Delavigne (in 1829).[46] Delavigne's play was adapted intoan eponymous opera scored byGaetano Donizetti in 1835.[46] All three present the traditional story that Faliero was acting to defend his wife's honour.[45][46] Prussian authorE. T. A. Hoffmann used a different approach in his 1818 novellaDoge und Dogaresse [de]; German composerRobert Schumann contemplated writing an opera based on Hoffmann's story.[47]Eugène Delacroix's 1826 paintingThe Execution of the Doge Marino Faliero is based on Lord Byron's play.[48]
His home,Palazzo Falier, still exists in Venice, being one of the oldest structures there.[49][50]
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| Preceded by | Doge of Venice 1354–1355 | Succeeded by |
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